iil 



;!:<!'! 



THB 



Biographical Record 



OF 



LOGAN COUNTY, 



ILLINOIS 



ILH JSTKATBL). 



rUepcoph that take uo pride h, the noble aehieven,ent^ of reu.ote amestors rvill „ever achieve 

anything v:ortliy to he remembered with pride hv remote generations. -^\.^CKV^.^^ . 



CHICAGO; 

The S. J. Clarke PrBLisiiiNc; Companv. 

lilOl. 



A 



\ 







Biop;raphy is the only true History. — Emerson. 

k people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors 

will nevei achieve anything worthy to be remembered with 

pride by remote generations. — Macaulay. 






(oai(5(c^ 



'i\^- 



■iSi 



PREFACK. 




HE greatest of English historians, Wacaulay, and one of the most 
brilliant writers of tlic present century, has said : "The history- of a 
country is best told in a record of the lives of its people." In con- 
formity with this idea, the Biographical Record has been prepared. 
Instead of going to musty records, and taking tlierefrom dry statistical 
matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have 
C^ gone to the people, the men and women who have, b)- their enterprise 
' and industrv, brought this county to a rank second to none among 
those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life 
struggles. Xo more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent 
public. In this volume will be found a record of manv whose lives are worthy the imitation 
of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and 
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing 
an education, have become learned men and women, with an inlluence extending throughout 
the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of 
life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in 
everv walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually 
crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the 
world, have pursued the " even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ 
said of the ^voman performing a deed of mercy — ■' They nave done what they could.' It 
tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the 
lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's 
call went forth valiantly " to do or die,'" and how through t-heir efforts the L'nion was 
restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every 
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from 
the fact tiiat it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which 
would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in tlie compilation of the work 
and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has 
been written ; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with 
few errors of consequence. In addition to biograpliical sketches, portraits of a number of 
representative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. 
For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, .some 
relused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. 
Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such 
opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men 
-never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business. 



December, 1901. 



The S. T- Clarke Publishing Co. 






CONTENTS 




GENERAL INDEX. 



Table of Contents, - 
Introductory, 



Compendium of National Biography, - i:}' 
Compendium of Local Biography, - 22.y 



INDEX TO PART I. 



Compendium of National Biography. 



Biographical Sketches of National Celebrities. 



page 

Abbott, Lyman 144 

Adams, Charles Kendall 143 

Adams, John 26 

Adams, John Quincy HI 

Agassiz, Louis J. R 1^7 

Alg^er, Russell A 173 

Allison, William B lol 

AUston, Washington 190 

Atgeld, lohn Peter 140 

Andrews, Elisha B 184 

Anthony, Susan B 6'2 

Armour, Philip D 62 

Arnold, Benedict 84 

Arthur. Chester Allen 168 

Astor, John J.icob 139 

Audobon, John Jacob 166 

Bailey, James Montgomery... 177 

Bancrolt, George 74 

Barnard, F'rederick A. P 179 

Barnum, Phineas T 41 

Barrett, Lawrence 1.56 

Barton, Clara 209 

Bayard, Lhomas Francis .... 200 

Beard, William H 196 

Beauregard, Pierre G. T 2u3 

Beecher, Henry Ward 26 

Bell, Alexander Graham 96 

Bennett, James Gordon 206 

Benton, Thomas Hart .53 

Bergh, Henry 160 

Bierstadt, Albert 197 

Billings, Josh 166 

Blaine. James Gillespie 22 

Bland, Richard Parks 196 



PAGE 

Boone, Daniel 36 

Booth, Edwin .51 

Booth, Junius Brutus 177 

Brice, Calvin S 181 

Brooks, Philips 130 

Brown, John .51 

Brown, Charles Farrar 91 

Brush, Chat les Francis 1.53 

Bryan, William Jennings 1.58 

Bryant, William Cullen 44 

Buchanan, Franklin 196 

Buchanan, James 128 

Buckner, Simon Bolivcr 18 i 

Burdette, Robert J 103 

Burr, Aaron Ill 

Butler, Benjamin Franklin.... 24 

Calhoun, John Caldwell 23 

Cameron, lames Donald 141 

Cameron, .Simon 141 

Canimack, Addison 197 

Campbell, Alexander ISO 

Carlisle, John G 133 

Carnegie, An Irew 73 

Carpenter, Matthew Hale 173 

Carson, Christopher (Kit). . .. 86 

Cass, Lewis 110 

Chase, Salmon Portland 66 

Ghilds, George W 83 

Choate, Rufus 2i)7 

Chaflin, Horace Brigham 107 

Clay, Henry 21 

Clemens, Samuel Langhorne. . 86 

Cleveland, Grover 174 

Clews, Henry 1.53 



PAGE 

Clinton, DeWitt 110 

Colfax, Schuyler 139 

Conkling, Allred 32 

Conkling, Roscoe .32 

Cooley, Thomas Mclntyre ... 140 

Cooper, James Fenimore .58 

Cooper, Peter 37 

Coprly, John .Singleton 191 

Corbin, Austin 205 

Corcoran, W. W '. . 196 

Cornell, Ezra 161 

Cramp, William 1^9 

Crockeit, David 76 

Cullom, Shelby Moore 1 U' 

Curtis, George William 144 

Cushman, Charlotte 107 

Custer, George A 95 

Dana, Charles A 88 

"Danbury News Man" 177 

Davenport, Fanny I'i6 

Davis, Jefferson 24 

Debs, Eugene V 1.32 

Decatur, Stephen 101 

Deering, William 198 

Depew, Chauncey Mitchell... 209- 

Dickinson, .-Xnoa 103 

Dickinson, Don M 139 

Dingley, Nelson, Jr 216 

Donnelly, Ignatius 161 

Douglas, Stephen Arnokl 63 

Douglass, Frederick 4;i 

Dow, Neal 108 

Draper, John William 1.^4 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— PART I 



PAGE 

Drexel, Anthony Joseph 124 

Dupont, Henry 198 

Edison, Thomas Alva 65 

Edmunds, George F 201 

Ellsworth, Oliver 168 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 57 

Ericsson, John 127 

Evarts, William Maxwell 89 

Farragut, David Glascoe 80 

Field, Cyrus West 173 

Field, David Dudley 126 

Field. Marshall 59 

Field, Stephen Johnson 216 

Fillmore, Millard 113 

Foote, Andrew Hull 176 

Foraker, Joseph B 143 

Forrest, Edwin 92 

Franklin, Benjamin 18 

Fremont, John Charles 29 

Fuller, Melville Weston 168 

Fulton, Robert 62 

Gage, Lvman J 71 

Gallatin; Albert 112 

Garfield, James A 163 

Garrett, John Work 200 

Garrison, William Lloyd 50 

Gates, Horatio 70 

Galling, Richard Jordan 116 

George, Henry 203 

Gibbons, Cardinal James 209 

Giimore, Patrick Sarsfield 77 

Girard, Stephen 137 

Gough, lohn B 131 

GouTd, jay 52 

Gordon, John B 215 

Grant, Ulysses S 155 

Gray, Asa 88 

Grav, Elisha 149 

Greeley, Adolphus W 142 

Greeley, Horace 20 

Greene, Nathaniel 69 

Gresham, Walter Quintin 183 

Hale, Edward Everett 79 

Hall, Charles Francis 167 

Hamilton, Alexander 31 

Hamlin, Hannibal 214 

Hampton, Wade 192 

Hancock, Wintield Scott 146 

Hanha, Marcus Alonzo 169 

Harris, Isham G 214 

Harrison, William Henry 87 

Harrison, Benjamin 182 

Harvard, John 129 

Havemeyer, John Craig 182 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel 135 

Hayes, Rutherford Birchard.. . 157 

Hendricks, Thomas Andrew. . 212 

Henrv, Joseph 105 

Henrs, 'Patrick 83 

Hill, David Bennett 90 

Hobart, Garrett A 213 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell 206 

Hooker, Joseph 52 

Howe, Elias 130 

Howells, William Dean 104 



PAGE 

Houston, Sam 120 

Hughes, Archbishop John 157 

Hughitt, Marvin 159 

Hull, Isaac 169 

Huntington, Collis Potter 94 

Ingalls, John James 114 

Ingersoll, Robert G 86 

Irving, Washington 33 

Jackson, Andrew 71 

Jackson, " Stonewall " 67 

Jackson, Thomas Jonathan 67 

Jay, John 39 

Jefferson, Joseph 47 

Jefferson, Thomas 34 

Johnson, Andrew 145 

Johnson, Eastman 202 

Johnston, Joseph Eccleston... . 85 

Jones, James K 171 

Jones, John Paul 97 

Jones, Samuel Porter 115 

Kane, Elisha Kent 125 

Kearney, Philip 210 

Kenton, Simon 188 

Knox, John Jay 134 

Lamar, Lucius Q. C 201 

Landon, Melville D 109 

Lee, Robert Edward 38 

Lewis, Charles B 193 

Lincoln, Abraham 135 

Livermore, Mary Ashton 131 

Locke, David Ross 172 

Logan, lohn A 26 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth 37 

Longstreet, James 56 

Lowell, lames Russell 104 

Mackay, John William 148 

Madison, lames 42 

Marshall, "John 166 

Mather, Cotton 164 

Mather, Increase 163 

Maxim, Hiram S 194 

McClellan, George Brinton.. . . 47 

McCormick, Cyrus Hall 172 

McDonough, Com. Thomas.. . 167 

McKinley^ William 217 

Meade, George Gordon 75 

Medill, Joseph 159 

Miles, Nelson A 176 

Miller, Cincinnatus Heine 218 

Miller, Joaquin 218 

Mills, Roger Quarles 211 

Monroe, lames 54 

Moody, Dwight L 207 

Moran, Thomas 98 

Morgan, John Pierpont 208 

Morgan, John T 216 

Morris, Robert 166 

Morse, Samuel F. B 124 

Morton, Levi P 142 

IMorton, Oliver Perry . . . 215 

Motley, John Lathro'p 130 

"Nye, Bill" 59 

Nye, Edgar Wilson 59 



PAGE 

O'Conor, Charles 187 

Olney, Richard 133 

Paine, Thomas 147 

Palmer, John M 195 

Parkhurst, Charles Henry 160 

"Partington, Mrs." 202 

Peabody, George.... 170 

Peck, George W 187 

Peffer, William A 164 

Perkins, Eli 109 

Perrv, Oliver Hazard 97 

Phillips, Wendell 30 

Pierce, Franklin 122 

Pingree, Hazen S 212 

Plant, Henry B 192 

Poe, Edgar Allen 69 

Polk, James Knox 102 

Porter, David Dixon 68 

Porter, Noah 93 

Prentice, George DenLson.. . . 119 

Prescott, William Hickling. ... 9R 

Pullman, George Mortimer. . .. 121 

Quad, M 193 

Quay Matthews 171 

Randolph, Edmund 136 

Read, Thomas Buchanan 132 

Reed, Thomas Brackett 208 

Reid, Whitelaw 149 

Roach, John 190 

Rockefeller, John Davison 195 

Root, George Frederick 218 

RothermeC Peter F 113 

Rutledge, John 57 

Sage, Russell.. 211 

.Schofield, John McAllister 199 

Schurz, Carl 201 

Scott, Thomas Alexander 204 

Scott, Winfield 79 

Seward, William Henry 44 

Sharon, William 165 

Shaw. Henry W 166 

Sheriiian, Phillip Henry 40 

Sherman, Charles R 87 

Sherman, John 86 

Shillaber, Benjamin Penhallow 202 
Sherman, William Tecumseh.. 30 

Smith, Edmund Kirby 114 

Sousa, John Philip 60 

Spreckels, Claus 159 

Stanford, Leland 101 

Stanton, Edwin iVlcMasters. . . 179 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 126 

.Stephens, Alexander Hamilton 32 
Stephenson, Adlai Ewing... . 141 

Stewart, Alexander T 58 

Stewart, William Morris 213 

Stowe, Harriet Elizabeth 

Beecher 66 

Stuart, James E. B 122 

Sumner, Charles 34 

Talmage, Thomas DeWitt . . 60 

Taney, Roger BrooJ.- 129 

Taylor, Zacharv 108 

Teller, Henry M 127 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— PART I 



PAGE 

Tesla, Nikola 193 

Thomas, George H 73 

Thomas, Theodore ... 1 72 

Thurman, Allen G 90 

Thurston, John M 1G6 

Tilden, Samuel J 48 

Tillman, Benjamin Ryan 119 

Toombs, Robert 205 

"Twain, Mark" 86 

Tyler, John 93 

Van Buren, Martm 78 

\'anderbilt, Cornelius 35 

Vail, Alfred 164 

Vest, George Graham 214 



PAGE 

Vilas. William Freeman 140 

\"oorhees, Daniel Wolsey 95 

Waite, Morrison Reniich 125 

Wallace, Lewis 199 

Wallack, Lester 121 

Wallack, John Lester 121 

Wanamaker, John 89 

Ward, ".'Vrtemus " 91 

Washburne, Elihu Benjamin. . 189 

Washington, George 17 

Watson, Thomas E ITS 

Watterson, Henry 7fj 

Weaver, James B 123 

Webster, Daniel 19 



PAGE 

Webster, Noah 49 

Weed, Thurlow 91 

West, Benjamin 115 

Whipple, Henry Benjamin. . . . 161 

White, Stephen V 162 

\\'hitetield, George 150 

Whitman, Walt 197 

Whitney, Eli 120 

Whitney, William Collins 92 

Whittier, John Greenleaf 67 

Willard, Frances E 133 

Wilson, William L 180 

Winchell, Alexander 175 

Windom, William 138 



PORTRAITS OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



PAGE 

Alger, Russell A 16 

Allison, William B 99 

Anthony, Susan B 63 

Armour, Philip 1) 151 

Arthur. Chester A 81 

Barnum, Phineas T 117 

Beecher, Henry Ward 27 

Blaine, James G 151 

Booth, Edwin 63 

Brvan, Wm. J 63 

Bryant, William CuUen 185 

Buchanan, James 81 

Buckner, Simon B 16 

Butler Benjamin F 151 

Carlisle, John G 151 

Chase, Salmon P 16 

Childs, George W 99 

Clay, Henry 81 

Cleveland, Grover 46 

Cooper, Peter 99 

Dana, Charles A 151 

Depew, Chauncey M 117 

Douglass, Fred 63 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 27 

Evarts, William M 99 

Farragut, Com. D. G 185 

Field, Cyrus W 63 



PAGE 

Field, Marshall 117 

Franklin, Benjamin 63 

Fremont, Gen. John C 16 

Gage, Lyman J. 151 

Garlield, James A 45 

Garrison, William Lloyd K't 

George, Henry 117 

Gould, Jay 99 

Grant, Gen. L'. S 185 

Greeley, Horace 81 

Hampton, Wade 16 

Hancock, Gen. Winfield S 185 

Hanna, MarkA 117 

Harrison, Benjamin 81 

Hayes, R. B 45 

Hendricks, Thomas A 81 

Holmes, Oliver W 151 

Hooker, Gen. Joseph 16 

Ingersoll, Robert G 117 

Irving, Washington 27 

Jackson, Andrew 45 

Jefferson, Thomas 45 

Johnston, Gen. J. E 16 

Lee, Gen. Robert E 185 

Lincoln, Abraham 81 

Logan, Gen. John A 16 

Longfellow, Henry W 185 



PAGE 

Longstrei't, Gen. James 16 

Lowell, James Russell 27 

McKinley, William 45 

Morse, S. F. B 185 

Phillips, Wendell 27 

Porter, Com. D. D 185 

I'ullman, George M 117 

Quay, M. S 99 

Reed, Thomas B 151 

Sage, Russell 117 

Scott, Gen. Winfield 185 

.Seward, William H.. ., 45 

Sherman, John 99 

Sherman, Gen. W. T. 151 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 27 

.Stowe, Harriet Beecher 27 

Sumner, Charles 45 

Talmage, T. DeWitt 63 

Teller, Henry M 99 

Thurman, Alien G 81 

Tilden, Samuel J 117 

\'an Buren, Martin 81 

\'anderbilt. Commodore 99 

Web.ster, Daniel 27 

Whittier, John G 2^ 

Washington, George 45 

Watterson, Henry 63- 



INDKX. 

PART II. BIOGRAPHICAL, 



PAGE 

Adams. E. L 28:i 

Adolph, P. J 4(i7 

Ahrens, Albert o?.") 

Ahrens. P. G 27: 

Alexander, J. S ."iK 

Arnisirong, William .'iiU 

Atchison. A. R ~u\ 

Atchison. G. W .")T1 

Atlass. Frank ._ 482 

Atteberry. William :f82 

Ay res, James olO 

Haker, James "I'S.'i 

Maker. Samuel .">8.'i 

Hangert. Henry 228 

Hapst. William ■■>72 

Harnett. J. K.. M. D 2-14 

Hates. E. W .■Jo8 

Heaver. James (i22 

Heaver. T. N (i(14 

Heaver. W. S (JOO 

Heckers. Henry .").")2 

Hehrends, H. K :ii)7 

Hekemeyer. C. B ■i7'i 

Hergraan. Arend 4.'>8 

Herryhill, A. 1 208 

Binns. H. A.". 51:! 

Black. C. K :!7:i 

Blackburn. T. I :!0;i 

Hlinn. E. D 4(K! 

Bock. Adam 2.V) 

Bohan. Patrick 2:i2 

Bost. Jacob .■)4() 

Bowles. C. K :!82 

Bowles. David 2(i4 

Bowles. W. H 4:i2 

Bozarth. J. W.. M. D :!()2 

Hrainard. B. H 2!)4 

Bramman. A. J .")4.'i 

Braucher, D. L :il!) 

Brawley, J, R 4(i'.) 

Hrennan, Thomas (i4.") 

Brest. John .")(i2 

Bridge. C. P (i()8 

Hriggs. W. T 2:i;i 

Brock. W. N 409 

Brown, H. H.. M, D :i4:! 

Burchett. Landrum MoO 

Burns. James :i2.'! 

Buzzard, L. 270 

Camerer, T. N 'iM 



PAGE 

Capps, O. T 027 

Carnahan, William 47(1 

Chestnut, D. N :ii)4 

Chestnut. T. J .").'i4 

Clark. R. P .")!)(1 

Coffraan. Levi 407 

Collins. J. W :!42 

Combs. Jonathan 4^)4 

Cook. W. H. B :!71 

Corthon, A. S o:i8 

Cosby, H. L. . M. D :i.">l 

Cosby, Noah .")!)2 

Cossi'tt. J. J ■')8.") 

Cottle. F. W 474 

Council. G. R (VM 

Council. Hardy ."ilil 

Crane. M. A .•i!»4 

Critchfield. J. A 444 

Curry, J. D 440 

Dawson, S. C 4o:! 

Dittus, E. J 2."):; 

Dittus, F^rederick :i20 

Downey. J. B :iS,S 

Downing, L. D 272 

Downing, S. W :i02 

Downing, W. L 2:!1 

Drake, S. H 480 

Dunham, W. S ■ill 

Dunn, N. S (i");! 

Ellis, Mrs. Margaret -"lOH 

Ewing. I. N ti.'!"i 

Fenton. Thomas .">lio 

F'infrock, I. G (i44 

F'oley, J. B :i'>~ 

Fulsher. William 57.'! 

Fuson, P. S :!72 

Gaddis, B. E :i!)l 

Gardner, B, P., M. D ()07 

CJasaway J, Mc .">!):! 

Gasaway. N. P .")08 

Gasaway. T. A (ilO 

Gemberling, J. A ()41 

Gemberling. R. G (i;!:i 

Gibson. Edward .").")4 

Gilchrist, liavid :^14 

(iilchrist. D. J :«)!) 

Gilchrist, Robert 2!)2 

Gillette, J. D .")8r 



PAGE 

Glenn. J. A 523 

Gobelman, Henry 570 

Graff, Z. W 503 

Graham. J. C 500 

Green. J. T 473 

Grinter. J. K 318 

Groves. L. L 250 

Gruensfelder. Philip 442 

Hainline. Allen 443 

Hamsen. .\. J (>44 

Hammerton. J, H 5i)8 

Harley, F. M (iOO 

Harms. Nanke ()20 

Harris. T. M 344 

Harris. John (il3 

Harrison. J. B ()()4 

Harts. D. H 478 

Heckard, Frederick 342 

Henn. W. F 384 

Hill, Uriah (i02 

Hoblit, Frank 223 

Hoblit, J. W 431 

Hoblit, Laban 374 

Hoerr. Frank 447 

Holland, Isaac 457 

Holmes, T. F .• 544 

Horn. J. A 038 

Horn. Paulus 55!) 

Houston. W. J 4(i4 

Howe, T. D 5!)!) 

Howser. J. W (151 

Hubbard. G. H 38il 

Hungerford, Williain 330 

Hvde. J. F 238 

lies. Edward 290 

leckel, J. F 370 

jewett. J. E 339 

Jones. W. B 227 

Johnston. James 2()0 

Johnston. William 58(> 

ludv, Jacob 3(i9 

Judy. J. 1 304 

Kaesebier. W. C. R 344 

Kennedy. T. D 032 

Keys. Andrew 594 

Kiick. John 501 

Kincaid. W. K.. M. D 383 

Kirby. W. H.. M. D 542 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Klokkenga. Harm "iil'i 

Knaak. H -Kil 

Koch. W. A. , M. D M)-> 

Koehnle. ¥. C. W :i."il 

Kretzinger. G. A 4!ll 

Kueramel. A. P 247 

Lachenmyer. J. J 421 

Kanterraan, Scott '"ilSI' 

Larison, .-^bel ti40 

Larison. J. H 4.">2 

Lawrence, C. S ")04 

Lee. C. W .J41 

Lee, Maskel, M. D 24.S 

Lee, Peter ■~>47 

Leach, W. R ."i(i!i 

Linbarger, E. S 427 

Logue, J. R ■")24 

Long. J. H (Kil 

Longan, J.N ^!1.'! 

Loveland. J. W 241 

Lucas. J. P mi2 

Lucas, O. J 44.S 

Ludlam. A. J 472 

Mamraen. Klaas 2!il 

Markworth, William 4;i!l 

Mason, C. C 2S7 

Mason. J. 401 

Matlock. W. P 441 

Maus, Peter 4S7 

Maver, Jacob 4ti(l 

McCarrel. Hurley :!2S 

McCormick, J. D .'iSl 

McCormick. W. \V 22!l 

McClelland, W. E., M. D ii-U 

McLean, S. H., M. D 4.S,S 

McLellan, James 2»il 

Meister. J. L 4.'iS 

Melrose, James 2;i7 

Merry, H. O .'ilLS 

Miller. J. E 2:!(» 

Monnett. Richard (i4!» 

Montgomery. H. C (iliCi 

Moos. E. M 4(i2 

Moos, J. M 41)1 

Motz. Jacob 4."il 

Mountjoy , K. L 412 

Mountjoy, J. I 42(1 

Mountjoy, W. N .'i."i4 

Murphy, Patrick 4!)2 

Murray, \V, M ; 40.S 

Myers. Squire (i.'i!) 

Xall, R, P 24S 

Xeel, William H 27:i 

Nicholson, E. B 4!W 

Nine, C. E ()47 

Nix. Jacob 4!ll 

Nottelmann. H. H 414 

Nycum, William .")7(i 

Obcamp. Peter ; . . . . (Kii 

OBrien. Patrick :i4!) 

Oglevee, C. S y.iU 

Oldaker. J. W .'iiMI 

Ophardt. Peter :!(l,S 



PAGE 

Ovler, H. S.. M. D (ilT 

Ovler. I'. H., M. D (>14 

Orton. F. C 2H1 

Orton, L. O., M. D 2S7 

Paine, W. C, M. D :iS(l 

Parker. Jeremiah ■i2!) 

Pattison, T. R .'57!) 

Paul. H. A. J 282 

I>ayne, W. G 4i)() 

Pease, A. J 424 

Pech, Robert 471 

I'egram, W. A :1S!) 

Perkins. Edwin C .iT.") 

Potts, Mrs, Rachel A .'iT.S 

Price. S. 3(>cS 

Purviance, H. P 4.)4 



(jui-senberry, .\lbert .'i2.S 

(juisenberry, .\llen 42M 

(juisenberry, .\rthur 042 

Quisenberry, G. H 4;i7 

Rademaker. N. T 417 

Rankin, Sinnet 4.'>il 

Rayburn. G. T .")2!) 

Read, J. T 3(i:! 

Reeder, C. C 047 

Reinders, Peter 2.i2 

Reise, Frederick 27.S 

Reiterman, A. F .)27 

Rigg, R, W., M. D 37!t 

Rimerman, Adolph 2()it 

Kimerman, William 580 

Hitter, E. E 440 

Ritter, W. T 400 

Roberts, j. H 422 

Rodenbeek. A. E 312 

Ronier, Anton 311 

Rothwell, J.M 2(>3 

Rupp, William 347 

Russell, W. P 2.il 

Ryan. Patrick ■ 430 

Sams. John O.'iO 

Sandel, Peter 322 

Sargent. A. M., M. D 307 

Sargent. Samuel, M. D 30!) 

Schaftenacker. Louis .')88 

Schnathorst, F. W 338 

Schonauer, Adam 3!)2 

Schwerdtfeger, L. C 234 

Scroggin. A. C 484 

Scroggin. L. K 3.51 

Seidel. W. E 310 

Sexton, J . W 353 

Shaw, William 01!) 

Sherwood. Isaac 2.58 

Shirley, Henry 46S 

Shockev, Daniel 514 

Siebert", G. W 453 

Simcoe. Philander 582 

Simp.son, D. C 321 

Simpson, J. A 270 

Simpson. W. W 62!) 

Sisson. E. E 42!) 

Smith, G. H 483 

Smith, J. W 2!)1 



PAGE 

Smith. Thomas 42!) 

Snook. J. A 48!) 

Snook. T. I .504 

Snvder. T, 280 

Sparks, J, D 052 

Sparks. Samuel .58!) 

Spinker. John 3(iO 

Starr. Jacob .548 

Steen. P. H 225 

Stringer. L. B 324 

Strong, G. H 054 

Strong, John 4.50 

Stroud, W. B.. Sr 2!)3 

Stroud. W. B., Jr 288 

Strvker, H. T 2.58 

Stults, B. F.. M. D 304 

Stumpf, Hartraan 413 

Sullivan, J. M 2()1 

Sullivan, T. I .5!)7 

Sumner, J. W 333 

Tabke, 1. A :!(i] 

Talraage, J. F 4!)!) 

Tavlor. C.' B.. M. D 5.50 

Tavlor, J. C 558 

Tavlo-, G. G,, M. D .300 

Teifer P. 1 Oil 

Tidd. Jo.seph 303 

Thomas, J . (" .552 

Thompson. \. S 418 

Thompson, Mrs. Clara D 41!) 

Thompson, J. C, Jr 521 

Tomlinson, A. H 2!)8 

Tomlinson, F. 1 027 

Tomlinson. J.M ()24 

Tuohv, James ()13 

Turner, C. H 284 

Tuttle, F. M 331 

Tuttle. G. H ()43 

Tuttle, T, D 202 

Tyler, C. W 4!)4 

Fhle. William .532 

Vanhise, David 332 

Van Gerpen, C 404 

Verrv, George 274 

Vonderlieth, A. 018 

Vonderlieth, G. W 483 

Wakeman. W. P 403 

Walters. H. B 433 

Webster. J. T., M. D ()50 

Wiemer. Henry 5.S.5 

Wigginton. John 5.38 

Wigginton, J. C. Jr 501 

Wigginton, W. W .551 

Willbanks, J. T 518 

Willmert, F. 1 224 

Willmert, J. H 242 

Woland, S. | 411 

Wood. Z. K (i23 

Worth. Murrv .537 

Wyatt. W. d'. 334 

Voungberg, F. R 2!)7 

Zeter, John 341 

Zollars, Lindsey 377 




COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



OF 



Celebrated Americans 



"c^"^'^''^^ 




.-^5-0 






0: 



G 




|EORGE WASHINGTON, 

the first president of the Unit- 
ed States, called the "Father 
^>»\i»>m<»>m«pm^ of his Country," was one of 
the most celebrated characters 
in history. He was born Feb- 
ruary 22, 1732, in Washing- 
ton Parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia. 
His father, Augustine Washington, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore him four 
children, and March t, 1730, he -married 
Mary Ball. Of six children by his second 
marriage, George was the eldest. 

Little is known of the early years of 
Washington, beyond the fact that the house 
in which he was born was burned during his 
early childhood, and that his father there- 
upon moved to another farm, inherited from 
his paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford 
county, on the north bank of the Rappahan- 
nock, and died there in 1743. From earliest 
childhood George developed a noble charac- 
ter. His education was somewhat defective, 
being confined to the elementary branches 
taught him by his mother and at a neighbor- 
ing school. On leaving school he resided 
some time at Mount Vernon with his half 



">^^^ 



S^ 



brother, Lawrence, who acted as his guar, 
dian. George's ir^clinations were for a sea- 
faring career, and a midshipman's warrant 
was procured for him; but through the oppo- 
sition of his mother the project was aban- 
doned, and at the age of sixteen he was 
appointed surveyor to the immense estates 
of the eccentric Lord Fairfax. Three years 
were passed by Washington in a rough fron- 
tier life, gaining experience which afterwards 
proved very essential to him. In 175 1, 
when the Virginia militia were put under 
training with a view to active service against 
France, Washington, though only nineteen 
years of age, was appointed adjutant, with 
the rank of major. In 1752 Lawrence 
Washington died, leaving his large property 
to an infant daughter. In his will George 
was named one of the executors and as an 
eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the 
death of the infant niece, soon succeeded to 
that estate. In 1753 George was commis- 
sioned adjutant-general of the Virginia 
militia, and performed important work at 
the outbreak of the French and Indian 
war, was rapidly promoted, and at the close of 
that war we find him commander-in-chier of 



O0p7risbt 189;, bj Gro. A. OgU ft Co. 



18 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



all the forces raised in Virginia. A cessation 
of Indian hostilities on the frontier having 
followed the expulsion of the French from 
the Ohio, he resigned his commission as 
ccmmander-in-chief of the Virginia forces, 
and then proceeded to Williamsburg to take 
his seat in the Virginia Assembly, of which 
he had been elected a member. 

January 17, 1759, Washington married 
Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Curtis, a young 
and beautiful widow of great wealth, and 
devoted himself for the ensuing hfteen years 
to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter- 
rupted only by the annual attendance in 
winter upon the colonial legislature at 
Williamsburg, until summoned by his coun- 
try to enter upon that other arena in which 
his fame was to become world-wide. The 
war for independence called Washington 
into service again, and he was made com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces, and 
was the most gallant and conspicuous figure 
in that bloody struggle, serving until Eng- 
land acknowledged the independence of 
each of the thirteen States, and negotiated 
with them jointly, as separate sovereignties. 
December 4, 17S3, the great commander 
took leave of his officers in most affection- 
ate and patriotic terms, and went to An- 
napolis, Maryland, where the congress of 
the States was in session, and to that body, 
when peace and order prevailed everywhere, 
resigned his commission and retired to 
Mount Vernon. 

It was in 1789 that Washington was 
called to the chief magistracy of the na- 
tion. The inauguration took place April 
30, in the presence of an immense multi- 
tude which had assembled to witness the new 
and imposing ceremony. In the manifold de- 
tails of his civil administration Washington 
proved himselffullyequal to the requirements 
of his position. In 1792, at the second presi- 



dential election, Washington was desirous 
to retire; but he yielded to the general wish 
of the country, and was again chosen presi- 
dent. At the third election, in 1796, he 
was again most urgently entreated to con- 
sent to remain in the executive chair. This 
he positively refused, and after March 4, 
1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon 
for peace, quiet, and repose. 

Of the call again made on this illustrious 
chief to quit his repose at Mount Ver- 
non and take command of all the United 
States forces, with rank of lieutenant-gen- 
eral, when war was threatened with France 
in 1798, nothing need here be stated, ex- 
cept to note the fact as an unmistakable 
testimonial of the high regard in which he 
was still held by his countrymen of all 
shades of political opinion. He patriotic- 
ally accepted this trust, but a treaty of 
peace put a stop to all action under it. He 
again retired to Mount Vernon, where he 
died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth 
year of his age. His remains were depos- 
ited in a family vault on the banks of the 
Potomac, at Mount \"ernon, where they still 
lie entombed. 

BENJ.JiMIX FRANKLIN, an eminent 
American statesman and scientist, was 
born of poor parentage, January 17, 1706, 
in Boston, Massachusetts. He was appren- 
ticed to his brother James to learn the print- 
er's trade to prevent his running away and 
going to sea, and also because of the numer- 
ous family his parents had to support (there 
being seventeen children, Benjamin being 
the fifteenth). He was a great reader, and 
soon developed a taste for writing, and pre- 
pared a number of articles and had them 
published in the paper without his brother s 
knowledge, and when the authorship be- 
came known it resulted in difficulty for the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAFHT. 



n 



young apprentice, although his articles had 
been received with favor by the public. 
James was afterwards thrown into prison for 
political reasons, and young Benjamin con- 
ducted the paper alone during the time. In 
1823, however, he determined to endure his 
bonds no longer, and ran away, going to 
Philadelphia, where he arrived with onl}' 
three pence as his store of wealth. With 
these he purchased three rolls, and ate them 
as he walked along the streets. He soon 
found employment as a journeyman printer. 
Two years later he was sent to England by 
the governor of Pennsylvania, and was 
promised the public printing, but did not get 
it. On his return to Philadelphia he estab- 
lished the "Pennsylvania Gazette," and 
soon found himself a person of great popu- 
larity in the province, his ability as a writer, 
philosopher, and politician having reached 
the neighboring colonies. He rapidly grew 
in prominence, founded the Philadelphia Li- 
brary in 1842, and two years later the 
American Philosophical Society and the 
University of Pennsylvania. He was made 
Fellow of the Royal Society in London in 
1775. His world-famous investigations in 
electricity and lightning began in 1746. He 
became postmaster-general of the colonies 
in 1753, having devised an inter-colonial 
postal system. He advocated the rights of 
the colonies at all times, and procured the 
repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. He was 
elected to the Continental congress of 1775, 
and in 1776 was a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, being one of the commit- 
tee appointed to draft that paper. He rep- 
resented the new nation in the courts of 
Europe, especially at Paris, where his simple 
dignity and homely wisdom won him the 
admiration of the court and the favor of the 
people. He was governor of Pennsylvania 
tour vears; was also a member of the con- 



vention in 1787 that drafted the constitution 
of the United States. 

His writings upon political topics, anti- 
slavery, finance, and economics, stamp him 
as one of the greatest statesmen of his time, 
while his "Autobiography" and "Poor 
Richard's Almanac " give him precedence in 
the literary field. In early life he was an 
avowed skeptic in religious matters, but 
later in life his utterances on this subject 
were less extreme, though he never ex- 
pressed approval of any sect or creed. He 
died in Philadelphia April 17, 1790. 



DANIEL WEBSTER.— Of world wide 
reputation for statesmanship, diplo- 
macy, and oratory, there is perhaps no more 
prominent figure in the history of our coun- 
try in the interval between 181 5 and i86r, 
than Daniel Webster. He was born at 
Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire, 
January 18, 1782, and was the second son 
of Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster. 
He enjoyed but limited educational advan- 
tages in childhood, but spent a few months 
in 1797, at Phillip Exeter Academy. He 
completed his preparation for college in the 
family of Rev. Samuel Wood, at Boscawen, 
and entered Dartmouth College in the fall 
of 1797. He supported himself most of the 
time during these years by teaching school 
and graduated in 1801, having the credit of 
being the foremost scholar of his class. He 
entered the law office of Hon. Thomas W. 
Thompson, at Salisbur}'. In 1S02 he con- 
tinued his legal studies at Fryeburg, Maine, 
where he was principal of the academy and 
copyist in the office of the register of 
deeds. In the office of Christopher Gore, 
at Boston, he completed his studies in 
1804-5, ^nd ^^'^s admitted to the bar in the 
latter year, and at Boscawen and at Ports- 
mouth soon rose to eminence in his profes- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



sion. ile became known as a federalist 
but did not court political honors; but, at- 
tracting attention by his eloquence in oppos- 
ing the war with England, he was elected 
to congress in 1812. During the special 
session of May, 181 3, he was appointed on 
the committee on foreign affairs and made 
his maiden speech June 10, 181 3. Through- 
out this session (as afterwards) he showed 
his mastery of the great economic questions 
of the day. He was re-elected in 18 14. In 
1816 he removed to Boston and for seven 
years devdted himself to his profession, 
:arning by his arguments in the celebrated 
"Dartmouth College Case" rank among 
the most distinguished jurists of the country. 
!n 1820 Mr. Webster was chosen a member 
of the state convention of Massachusetts, to 
revise the constitution. The same year he 
delivered the famous discourse on the " Pil- 
grim fathers," which laid the foundation for 
his fame as an orator. Declining a nomi- 
nation for United States senator, in 1822 he 
was elected to the lower house of congress 
and was re-elected in 1824 and 1826, but in 
1827 was transferred to the senate. He 
retained his seat in the latter chamber until 
1 84 1. During this time his voice was ever 
lifted in defence of the national life and 
honor and although politically opposed to 
him he gave his support to the administra- 
tion of President Jackson in the latter's con- 
test with nullification. Through all these 
rears he was ever found upon the side of 
eight and justice and his speeches upon all 
the great questions of the day have be- 
-,orne household words in almost every 
family. In 1 841 Mr. Webster was appointed 
secretary of state by President Harrison 
and was continued in the same office by- 
President Tyler. While an incumbent of 
this office he showed consummate ability as 
a diplomat in the negotiation of the " Ash- 



burton treaty "of August 9- 1849, which 
settled many points of dispute between the 
United States and England. In May, 1 843. 
he resigned his post and resumed his pro- 
fession, and in December, 1845, took his 
place again in the senate. He contributed 
in an unofficial way to the solution of the 
Oregon question with Great Britain in 1847. 
He was disappointed in 1848 in not receiv- 
ing the nomination for the presidency. He 
became secretary of state under President 
Fillmore in 1850 and in dealing with all the 
complicated questions of the day showed a 
wonderful mastery of the arts of diplomacy. 
Being hurt in an accident he retired to his 
home at Marshfield, where he died Octo- 
ber 24, 1852. 



HORACE GREELEY.— As journalist, 
author, statesman and political leader, 
there is none more widely known than the 
man whose name heads this article. He 
was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, Feb- 
ruary 3, 181 1, and was reared upon a farm. 
At an early age he evinced a remarkable 
intelligence and love of learning, and at 
the age of ten had read every book he could 
borrow for miles around. About 1821 the 
family removed to Westhaven, Vermont, 
and for some years young Greeley assisted 
in carrying on the farm. In 1826 he entered 
the office of a weekly newspaper at East 
Poultney, Vermont, where he remained 
about four years. On the discontinuance 
of this paper he followed his father's 
family to Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
whither they had moved, and for a time 
worked at the printer's trade in that neigh- 
borhood. In 1 83 1 Horace went to New 
York City, and for a time found employ- 
ment as journeyman printer. January, 
1833, in partnership with Francis Story, he 
published the Morning Post, the first penny 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



21 



paper ever printed. This proved a failure 
and was discontinued after three weeks. 
The business of job printing was carried on, 
however, until the death of Mr. Story in 
July following. In company with Jonas 
Winchester, March 22, 1S34, Mr. Greeley 
commenced the publication of the Nciu 
Yorker, a weekly paper of a high character. 
For financial reasons, at the same time, 
Greeley wrote leaders for other papers, and, 
in 1838, took editorial charge of the fcffcr- 
soiiiait, a Whig paper published at Albany. 
In 1840, on the discontinuance of that sheet, 
ha devoted his energies to the Log Cabin, a 
campaign paper in the interests of the Whig 
party. In the fall of 1841 the latter paper 
was consolidated with the ^A'tti:' Yorker, un- 
der the name of the Tribune, the first num- 
ber of which was issued April 10, 184 1. At 
the head of this paper Mr. Greeley remained 
until the day of his death. 

In 1848 Horace Greeley was elected to 
the national house of representatives to 
fill a vacancy, and was a member of that 
body until March 4, 1S49. In 1851 he went 
to Europe and served as a juror at the 
World's Fair at the Crystal Palace, Lon- 
don. In 1855, he made a second visit to 
the old world. In 1859 he crossed the 
plains and received a public reception at 
San Francisco and Sacramento. He was a 
member of the Republican national con- 
vention, at Chicago in i860, and assisted in 
the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for 
President. The same year he was a presi- 
dential elector for the state of New York, 
and a delegate to the Loyalist convention 
at Philadelphia. 

At the close of the war, in 1865, Mr. 
Greeley became a strong advocate of uni- 
versal amnesty and complete pacification, 
and in pursuance of this consented to be- 
come one of the bondsmen for Jeflerson 



Davis, who was imprisoned for treason. In 
1867 he was a delegate to the New York 
state convention for the revision of the 
constitution. In 1870 he was defeated for 
congress in the Sixth New York district. 
At the Liberal convention, which met in 
Cincinnati, in May, 1872, on the fifth ballot 
Horace Greeley was nominated for presi- 
dent and July following was nominated for 
the same office by the Democratic conven- 
tion at Baltimore. He was defeated by a 
large majority. The large amount of work 
done b}' him during the campaign, together 
with the loss of his wife about the same 
time, undermined his strong constitution, 
and he was seized with inflammation of the 
brain, and died November 29, 1872. 

In addition to his journalistic work, Mr. 
Greeley was the author of several meritori- 
ous works, among which were: "Hint? 
toward reform," "Glances at Europe," 
" History of the struggle for slavery exten 
sion," "Overland journey to San Francis- 
co," "The American conflict," and " Rec- 
ollections of a busy life." 



HENRY CLAY.— In writing of this em- 
inent American, Horace Greeley once 
said: "He was a matchless party chief, an 
admirable orator, a skillful legislator, wield- 
ing unequaled influence, not only over his 
friends, but even over those of his political 
antagonists who were subjected to the magic 
of his conversation and manners. " A law- 
yer, legislator, orator, and statesman, few 
men in history have wielded greater influ- 
ence, or occupied so prominent a place in 
the hearts of the generation in which they 
lived. 

Henry Clay was born near Richmond, 
in Hanover county, Virginia, April 12, 
1777, the son of a poor Baptist preacher 
who died when Henry was but five years 



22 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



old. The mother married again about ten 
years later and removed to Kentucky leav- 
ing Henry a clerk in a store at Richmond. 
Soon afterward Henry Clay secured a posi- 
tion as copyist in the office of the clerk of the 
high court of chancery, and four years later 
entered the law office of Robert Brooke, 
then attorney general and later governor of 
his native state. In 1797 Henry Clay was 
licensed as a lawyer and followed his mother 
to Kentucky, opening an office at Lexington 
and soon built up a profitable practice. 
Soon afterward Kentucky, in separating from 
Virginia, called a state convention for the 
purpose of framing a constitution, and Clay 
at that time took a prominent part, publicly 
urging the adoption of a clause providing 
for the abolition of slavery, but in this he 
was overruled, as he was fifty years later, 
when in the height of his fame he again ad- 
vised the same course when the state con- 
stitution was revised in 1850, Young Clay 
took a very active and conspicuous part in 
the presidential campaign in 1 800, favoring 
the election of Jefferson; and in 1803 was 
chosen to represent Fayette county in the 
state 'egislature. In 1806 General John 
Adair, then United States senator from 
Kentucky, resigned and Henry Clay was 
elected to fill the vacancy by the legislature 
and served through one session in which he 
at once assumed a prominent place. In 
1807 he was again a representative in the 
legislature and was elected speaker of the 
house. At this time originated his trouble 
with Humphrey Marshall. Clay proposed 
that each member clothe himself and family 
wholly in American fabrics, which Marshall 
characterized as the " language of a dema- 
gogue." This led to a duel in which both 
parties were slightly injured. In 1809 
Henry Clay was again elected to fill a va- 
cancy HI the United States senate, and two 



years later elected representative in the low- 
er house of congress, being chosen speaker 
of the house. About this time warwas de- 
clared against Great Britain, and Clay took 
a prominent public place during this strug- 
gle and was later one of the commissioners 
sent to Europe by President Madison to ne- 
gotiate peace, returning in September, 181 5, 
having been re-elected speaker of the 
house during his absence, and was re-elect- 
ed unanimously. He was afterward re- 
elected to congress and then became secre- 
tary of state undtir John Quincy Adams. 
In I 83 1 he was again elected senator from 
Kentucky and remained in the senate most 
of the time until his death. 

Henry Clay was three times a candidate 
for the presidency, and once very nearly 
elected. He was the unanimous choice of 
the Whig party in 1 844 for the presidency, 
and a great effort was made to elect him 
but without success, his opponent, James K. 
Polk, carrying both Pennsylvania and New 
York by a very slender margin, while either 
of them alone would have elected Clay. 
Henry Clay died at Washington Juoe 29, 
1852. 

JAMES GILLESPIE BLAINE was one 
of the most distinguished of American 
statesmen and legislators. He was born 
January 31, 1830, in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, and received a thorough edu- 
cation, graduating at Washington College in 
1847. In early life he removed to Maine 
and engaged in newspaper work, becoming 
editor of the Portland ' 'Advertiser. " While 
yet a young man he gained distinction as a 
debater and became a conspicuous figure in 
political and public affairs. In 1862 he was 
elected to congress on the Republican ticket 
in Maine and was re-elected five times. In 
March, 1869, he was chosen speaker of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



28 



house of representatives and was re-elected 
in 1871 and again in 1873. In 1876 he was 
a representative in the lower house of con- 
gress and during that year was appointed 
United States senator by the Governor to 
fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of 
Senator Morrill, who had been appointed 
secretary of the treasury. Mr. Blaine 
served in the senate until March 5, 1881, 
when President Garfield appointed him sec- 
retary of state, which position he resigned 
in December, 1881. Mr. Blaine was nom- 
inated for the presidency by the Republic- 
ans, at Chicago in June, 1884, but was de- 
feated by Grover Cleveland after an exciting 
and spirited campaign. During the later 
years of his life Mr. Blaine devoted most of 
his time to the completion of his work 
"Twenty Years in Congress," which had a 
remarkably large sale throughout the United 
States. Blaine was a man of great mental 
ability and force of character and during the 
latter part of his life was one of the most 
noted men of his time. He was the origina- 
tor of what is termed the " reciprocity idea" 
in tariff matters, and outlined the plan of 
carrying it into practical effect. In 1876 
Robert G. Ingersoll in making a nominating 
speech placing Blaine's name as a candidate 
for president before the national Republican 
convention at Cincinnati, referred to Blaine 
as the " Plumed Knight " and this title clung 
to him during the remainder of his life. His 
death occurred at Washington, January 27, 
1893. 

JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, a dis- 
tinguished American statesman, was a 
native of South Carolina, born in Abbeville 
district, March 18, 1782. He was given 
the advantages of a thorough education, 
graduating at Yale College in 1804, and 
adopted the calling of a lawyer. A Demo- i 



crat politically, at that time, he took a fore- 
most part in the councils of his party and 
was elected to congress in 181 1, supporting 
the tariff of 18 16 and the establishing of 
the United States Bank. In 1S17 he be- 
came secretary of war in President Monroe's 
cabinet, and in 1824 was elected vice-president 
of the United States, on the ticket with John 
Quincy Adams, and re-elected in 1 828, on the 
ticket with General Jackson. Shortly aftef 
this Mr. Calhoun became one of the strongest 
advocates of free trade and the principle of 
sovereignty of the states and was one of 
the originators of the doctrine that " any 
state could nullify unconstitutional laws of 
congress." Meanwhile Calhoun had be- 
come an aspirant for the presidency, and 
the fact that General Jackson advanced the 
interests of his opponent. Van Buren, led 
to a quarrel, and Calhoun resigned the vice- 
presidency in 1832 and was elected United 
States senator from South Carolina. It was 
during the same year that a convention was 
held in South Carolina at which the •' Nul- 
lification ordinance " was adopted, the ob- 
ject of which was to test the constitution- 
ality of the protective tariff measures, and 
to prevent if possible the collection of im- 
port duties in that state which had been 
levied more for the purpose of ' ' protection " 
than revenue. This ordinance was to go 
into effect in February, 1833, and created a 
great deal of uneasiness throughout the 
country as it was feared there would be a 
clash between the state and federal authori- 
ties. It was in this serious condition ot 
public affairs that Henry Clay came forward 
with the the famous "tariff compromise" 
of 1833, to which measure Calhoun and 
most of his followers gave their support and 
the crisis was averted. In 1843 Mr. Cal- 
houn was appointed secretary of state in 
President Tyler's cabinet, and it was under 



24 



COMPENDIUM OI^' BIOGRAPHT. 



his administration tliat the treaty concern- 
ing tiie annexation of Texas was negotiated. 
In 1845 he was re-elected to the United 
States senate and continued in the senate 
L-ntil his death, which occurred in March, 
1 850. He occupied a high rank as a scholar, 
student and orator, and it is conceded that 
he was one of the greatest debaters America 
has produced. The famous debate between 
Calhoun and Webster, in 1833, "s regarded 
as the most noted for ability and eloquence 
in the history of the country. 



BENJ.\MIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, one 
of America's most brilliant and pro- 
found lawyers and noted public men, was 
a native of New England, born at Deer- 
field, New Hampshire, November 5, 18 18. 
His father. Captain John Butler, was a 
prominent man in his day, commanded a 
company during the war of 181 2, and 
served under Jackson at New Orleans. 
Benjamin F. Butler was given an excellent 
education, graduated at Waterville College, 
Maine, studied law, was admitted to the 
bar in 1840, at Lowell, Massachusetts, 
where he commenced the practice of his 
profession and gained a wide reputation for 
his ability at the bar, acquiring an extensive 
practice and a fortune. Early in life he 
began taking an active interest in military 
affairs and served in the state militia through 
all grades from private to brigadier-general. 
In 1853 he was elected to the state legisla- 
ture on the Democratic ticket in Lowell, 
and took a prominent part in the passage of 
legislation in the interests of labor. Dur- 
ing the same year he was a member of the 
constitutional convention, and in 1859 rep- 
resented his district in the Massachusetts 
senate. When the Civil war broke out 
General Butler took the field and remained 
at the front most of the time during that 



bloody struggle. Part of the time he had 
charge of Fortress Monroe, and in Febru- 
ary, 1862, took command of troops forming 
part of the expedition against New Orleans, 
and later had charge of the department of 
the Gulf. He was a conspicuous figure dur- 
ing the continuance of the war. After the 
close of hostilities General Butler resumed 
his law practice in Massachusetts and in 
1866 was elected to congress from the Es- 
sex district. In 1882 he was elected gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and in 1884 was the 
nominee of the *' Greenback" party for 
president of the United States. He con- 
tinued his legal practice, and maintained his 
place as one of the most prominent men in 
New England until the time of his death, 
which occurred January 10, 1893. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, an officer, states- 
man and legislator of prominence in 
America, gained the greater part of his fame 
from the fact that he was president of the 
southern Confederacy. Mr. Davis was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, June 3, 
1808, and his early education and surround- 
ings were such that his sympathies and in- 
clinations were wholly with the southern 
people. He received a thorough education, 
graduated at West Point in 1828. and for a 
number of years served in the army at west- 
ern posts and in frontier service, first as 
lieutenant and later as adjutant. In 1835 
he resigned and became a cotton planter in 
Warren county, Mississippi, where he took 
an active interest in public affairs and be- 
came a conspicuous figure in politics. In 
1844 he was a presidential elector from 
Mississippi and during the two following 
years served as congressman from his d's- 
trict. He then became colonel of a iviissis- 
sippi regiment in the war with Mexico ana 
participated in some of the most severe l-hl- 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHT. 



25 



ties, being seriously wounded at Buena 
Vista. Upon his return to private life he 
again took a prominent part in political af- 
fairs and represented his state in the United 
States senate from 1847 to 1851. He then 
entered President Pierce's cabinet as secre- 
tary of war, after which he again entered 
the United States senate, remaining until 
the outbreak of the Civil war. He then be- 
came president of the southern confederacy 
and served as such until captured in May, 
1865, at Irwinville. Georgia. He was held 
as prisoner of war at Fortress Monroe, until 
1867, when he was released on bail and 
finally set free in 1868. His death occurred 
December 6, 1889. 

Jefferson Davis was a man of excellent 
abilities and was recognized as one of the 
best organizers of his day. He was a 
forceful and fluent speaker and a ready 
writer. He wrote and published the " Rise 
and Fall of the Southern Confederacy," a 
work which is considered as authority by 
the southern peopk 



JOHN ADAMS, the second president of 
the United States, and one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the early struggles of 
his country for independence, was born in 
the present town of Quincy, then a portion 
of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 30, 
'735- He received a thorough education, 
graduating at Harvard College in 1755, 
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 
1758. He was well adapted for this profes- 
sion and after opening an office in his native 
town rapidly grew in prominence and public 
favor and soon was regarded as one of the 
leading lawyers of the country. His atten- 
tion was called to political affairs by the 
passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, and he 
drew up a set of resolutions on the subject 
which were very popular. In 1 768 he re- 



moved to 'Boston and became one of the 
most courageous and prominent advocates 
of the popular cause and was chosen a 
member of the Colonial legislature from 
Boston. He was one of the delegates that 
represented Massachusetts in the first Con-, 
tinental congress, which met in September, 
1774. In a letter written at this crisis he 
uttered the famous words: "The die is now 
cast; I have passed the Rubicon. Sink or 
swim, live or die, survive or perish with my 
country, is my unalterable determination." 
He was a prominent figure in congress and 
advocated the movement for independence 
when a majority of the members were in- 
clined to temporize and to petition the King. 
In May, 1776, he presented a resolution in 
congress that the colonies should assume 
the duty of self-government, which was 
passed. In June, of the same year, a reso- 
lution that the United States "are, and ol 
right ought to be, free and independent," 
was moved by Richard H. Lee, seconded by 
Mr. Adams and adopted by a small majority, 
Mr. Adams was a member of the committee 
of five appointed June 11 to prepare a 
declaration of independence, in support of 
which he made an eloquent speech. He was 
chairman of the Board of War in 1776 and 
in 1 778 was sent as commissioner to France, 
but returned the following year. In 1780 
he went to Europe, having been appointed 
as minister to negotiate a treaty of peace 
and commerce with Great Britain. Con- 
jointly with Franklin and Jay he negotiated 
a treaty in 1782. He was employed as a 
minister to the Court of St. James from 
1785 to 1788, and during that period wrote 
his famous "Defence of the American Con- 
stitutions." In 1789 he became vice-presi- 
dent of the United States and was re-elected 
in 1792. 

In 1796 Mr. Adams was chosen presi- 



26 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



dent of the United States, his competitor 
being Thomas Jefferson, who became vice- 
president. In 1800 he was the Federal 
candidate for president, but he was not 
cordially supported by Gen. Hamilton, the 
favorite leader of his party, and was de- 
feated by Thomas Jefferson. 

Mr. Adams then retired from public life 
to his large estate at Quincy, Mass., where 
he died July 4, 1826, on the same day that 
witnessed the death of Thomas Jefferson. 
Though his physical frame began to give way 
many years before his death, his mental 
powers retained their strength and vigor to 
the last. In his ninetieth year he was glad- 
dened by .the elevation of his son, John 
Quincy Adams, to the presidential office. 



HENRY WARD BEECHER, one of the 
most celebrated American preachers 
and authors, was born at Litchfield, Connec- 
ticut, June 24, 1 8 1 3. His father was Dr. Ly- 
man Beecher, also an eminent divine. At 
an early age Henry Ward Beecher had a 
strong predilection for a sea-faring life, and 
it was practically decided that he would fol- 
low this inclination, but about this time, in 
consequence of deep religious impressions 
which he experienced during a revival, he 
renounced his former intention and decided 
to enter the ministry. After having grad- 
uated at Amherst College, in 1834, he stud- 
ied theology at Lane Seminary under the 
tuition of his father, who was then president 
of that institution. In 1847 he became pas- 
tor of the Plymouth Congregational church 
in Brooklyn, where his oratorical ability and 
original eloquence attracted one of the larg- 
est congregations in the country. He con- 
tinued to served this church until the time 
of his death, March 8, 1887. Mr. Beecher 
also, found time for a great amount of liter- 
ary work For a number of years he was 



editor of the "Independent" and also the 
"Christian Union." He also produced many 
works which are widely known. Among his 
principal productions are ' 'Lectures to Young 
Men," " Star Papers, " "Life of Christ," 
"Life Thoughts," "Royal Truths" (a 
novel), "Norwood," " Evolution and Rev- 
olution," and "Sermons on Evolution and 
Religion. " Mr. Beecher was also long a 
prominent advocate of anti-slavery princi- 
ples and temperance reform, and, at a later 
period, of the rights of women. 



JOHN A. LOGAN, the illustrious states- 
man and general, was born in Jackson 
county, Illinois, February 9, 1824. In his 
boyhood days he received but a limited edu- 
cation in the schools of his native county. 
On the breaking out of the war with Mexico 
he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteers 
and became its quartermaster. At the close 
of hostilities he returned home and was 
elected clerk of the courts of Jackson county 
in 1849. Determining to supplement his 
education Logan entered the Louisville Uni- 
versity, from which he graduated in 1852 
and taking up the study of law was admitted 
to the bar. He attained popularity and suc- 
cess in his chosen profession and was elected 
to the legislature in 1852, 1853, 1856 and 
1857. He was prosecuting attorney from 
1853 to 1857. He was elected to congress 
in 1858 to fill a vacancy and again in i860. 
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, Logan re- 
signed his office and entered the army, and 
in September, 1861, was appointed colonel 
of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, which he 
led in the battles of Belmont and Fort Don- 
elson. In the latter engagement he was 
wounded. In March, 1862, he was pro- 
moted to be brigadier-general and in the 
following month participated in the battles 
of f^ittsburg Landing. In November, 1862, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



29 



for gallant conduct he was made major-gen- 
eral. Throughout the Vicksburg campaign 
he was in command of a division of the Sev- 
enteenth Corps and was distinguished at 
Port Gibson, Champion Hills and in the 
siege and capture of Vicksburg. In October, 
1863, he was placed in command of the 
Fifteenth Corps, which he led with great 
credit. During the terrible conflict before 
Atlanta, July 22, 1864, on the death of 
General McPherson, Logan, assuming com- 
mand of the Army of the Tennessee, led it 
on to victory, saving the day by his energy 
and ability. He was shortly after succeeded 
by General O. O. Howard and returned to 
the command of his corps. He remained 
in command until the presidential election, 
when, feeling that his influence was needed 
at home he returned thither and there re- 
mained until the arrival of Sherman at Sa- 
vannah, when General Logan rejoined his 
command. In May, 1865, he succeeded 
General Howard at the head of the Army of 
the Tennessee. He resigned from the army 
in August, the same year, and in November 
was appointed minister to Me.xico, but de- 
clined the honor. He served in the lower 
house of the fortieth and forty-first con- 
gresses, and was elected United States sena- 
tor from his native state in 1870, 1S78 and 
1885. He was nominated for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1884 on the ticket with Blaine, but 
was defeated. General Logan was the 
author of ' ' The Great Conspiracy, its origin 
and history," published in 1885. He died 
at Washington, December 26, 1886. 



JOHN CHARLES FREMONT, the first 
Republican candidate for president, was 
born in Savannah, Georgia, January 21, 
18 1 3. He graduated from Charleston Col- 
lege (South Carolina) in 1830, and turned his 

attention to civil engineering. He was shortly 
2 



afterward employed in the department of 
government surveys on the Mississippi, and 
constructing maps of that region. He was 
made lieutenant of engineers, and laid be- 
fore the war department a plan for pene- 
trating the Rocky Mountain regions, which 
was accepted, and in 1842 he set out upon 
his first famous exploring expedition and ex- 
plored the South Pass. He also planned an 
expedition to Oregon by a new route further 
south, but afterward joined his expedition 
with that of Wilkes in the region of the 
Great Salt Lake. He made a later expedi- 
tion which penetrated the Sierra Nevadas, 
and the San Joaquin and Sacramento river 
valleys, making maps of all regions explored. 
In 1845 he conducted the great expedi- 
tion which resulted in the acquisition of 
California, which it was believed the Mexi- 
can government was about to dispose of to 
England. Learning that the Mexican gov- 
ernor was preparing to attack the American 
settlements in his dominion, Fremont deter- 
mined to forestall him. The settlers rallied 
to his camp, and in June, 1846, he defeated 
the Mexican forces at Sonoma Pass, and a 
month later completely routed the governor 
and his entire army. The Americans at 
once declared their independence of Mexico, 
and Fremont was elected governor of Cali- 
fornia. By this time Commodore Stockton 
had reached the coast with instructions from 
Washington to conquer California. Fre- 
mont at once joined him in that effort, which 
resulted in the annexation of California with 
its untold mineral wealth. Later Fremont 
became involved in a difficulty with fellow 
officers which resulted in a court martial, 
and the surrender of his commission. He 
declined to accept reinstatement. He af- 
terward laid out a great road from the Mis- 
sissippi river to San Francisco, and became 
the first United States senator from Califor- 



80 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAriTT. 



nia, in 1849. I" 1856 he was nominated 
by the new RepubHcan party as its first can- 
didate for president against Buchanan, and 
received 1 14 electoral votes, out of 296. 

In 1 86 1 he was made major-general and 
placed in charge of the western department. 
He planned the reclaiming of the entire 
Mississippi valley, and gathered an army of 
thirty thousand men, \yith plenty of artil- 
lery, and was ready to move upon the con- 
federate General Price, when he was de- 
prived of his command. He was nominated 
for the presidency at Cincinnati in 1864, but 
withdrew. He was governor of Arizona in 
1878, holding the position four years. He 
was interested in an engineering enterprise 
looking toward a great southern trans-con- 
tinental railroad, and in his later years also 
practiced law in New York. He died July 1 3, 
1890. 

WENDELL PHILLIPS, the orator and 
abolitionist, and a conspicuous figare 
in American histor}-, was born November 
29, 181 1, at Boston, Massachusetts. He 
received a good education at Harvard 
College, from which he graduated in 1831, 
and then entered the Cambridge Law School . 
After completing his course in that institu- 
tion, in 1833, he was admitted to the bar, 
in 1834, at Suffolk. He entered the arena 
of life at the time when the forces of lib- 
erty and slavery had already begun their 
struggle that was to culminate in the Civil 
war. William Lloyd Garrison, by his clear- 
headed, courageous declarations of the anti- 
slavery principles, had done much to bring 
about this struggle. Mr. Phillips was not a 
man that could stand aside and see a great 
struggle being carried on in the interest of 
humanity and look passively on. He first 
attracted attention as an orator in 1837, at 
a meeting that was called to protest against 



the murder of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. 
The meeting would have ended in a few 
perfunctory resolutions had not Mr. Phillips 
by his manly eloquence taken the meeting 
out of the hands of the few that were in- 
clined to temporize and avoid radical utter- 
ances. Having once started out in this ca- 
reer as an abolitionist Phillips never swerved 
from what he deemed his duty, and never 
turned back. He gave up his legal practice 
and launched himself heart and soul in the 
movement for the liberation of the slaves. 
He was an orator of very great ability and 
by his earnest efforts and eloquence he did 
much in arousing public sentiment in behalf 
of the anti-slavery cause — possibly more 
than any one man of his time. After the 
abolition of slavery Mr. Phillips was, if pos- 
sible, even busier than before m the literary 
and lecture field. Besides temperance and 
women's rights, he lectured often and wrote 
much on finance, and the relations of labor 
and capital, and his utterances on whatever 
subject always bore the stamp of having 
emanated from a master mind. Eminent 
Clitics have stated that it might fairly be 
questioned whether there has ever spoken 
in America an orator superior to Phillips. 
The death of this great man occurred Feb- 
ruary 4, 1884. 



WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 
was one of the greatest generals that 
the world has ever produced and won im- 
mortal fame by that strategic and famous 
" march to the sea," in the war of the Re- 
bellion. He was born February 8, 1820, at 
Lancaster, Ohio, and was reared in the 
family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, as his 
father died when he was but nine years of 
age. He entered West Point in 1836, was 
graduated from the same in 1840, and ap- 
pointed a second lieutenant in the Third 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



31 



Artillery. He passed through the various 
grades of the service and at the outbreak of 
the Civil war was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Reji^ular Infantry. A full history 
of General Sherman's conspicuous services 
would be to repeat a history of the army. 
He commanded a division at Shiloh, and 
was instrumental in the winning of that bat- 
tle, and was also present at the siege of Vicks- 
burg. On July 4, 1863, he was appointed 
brigadier-general of the regular army, and 
shared with Hooker the victory of Mission- 
ary Ridge. He was commander of the De- 
panment of the Tennessee from October 
27th until the appjintment of General 
Grant as lieutenant-general, by whom he 
was appointed to the command of the De- 
partment of the Mississippi, which he as- 
sumed in March, 1864. He at once began 
organizing the army and enlarging his com- 
munications preparatory to his march upon 
Atlanta, which he started the same time of 
the beginning of the Richmond campaign by 
Grant. He started on May 6, and was op- 
posed by Johnston, who had fifty thousand 
men, but by consummate generalship, he 
captured Atlanta, on September 2, after 
several months of hard fighting and a severe 
loss of men. General Sherman started on 
his famous march to the sea November 15, 
1864, and by December 10 he was before 
Savannah, which he took on December 23. 
This campaign is a monument to the genius 
of General Sherman as he only lost 567 
men from Atlanta to the sea. After rest- 
ing his army he moved northward and occu- 
pied the following places: Columbia, 
Cheraw, Fayetteville, Ayersboro, Benton- 
ville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and April 18, he 
accepted the surrender of Johnston's army 
on a basis of agreement that was not re- 
ceived by the Government with favor, but 
finally accorded Johnston the same terms as 



Lee was given by General Grant. He was 
present at the grand review at Washington, 
and after the close of the war was appointed 
to the command of the military division of 
the Mississippi; later was appointed lieu- 
tenant-general, and assigned to the military 
division of the Missouri. When General 
Grant was elected president Sherman became 
general, March 4, 1869, and succeeded to 
the command of the army. His death oc- 
curred February 14, 1891, at Washington. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, one of the 
most prominent of the early American 
statesmen and financiers, was born in Nevis, 
an island of the West Indies, January ii," 
1757, his father being a Scotchman and his 
mother of Huguenot descent. Owing to the 
death of his mother and business reverses 
which came to his father, young Hamilton 
was sent to his mother's relatives in Santa 
Cru2; a few years later was sent to a gram- 
mar school at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 
and in 1773 entered what is now known as 
Columbia College. Even at that time he 
began taking an active part in public affairs 
and his speeches, pamphlets, and newspaper 
articles on political affairs of the day at- 
tracted considerable attention. In 1776 he 
received a captain's commission and served 
in Washington's army with credit, becoming 
aide-de-camp to Washington with rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. In 1781 he resigned his 
commission because of a rebuke from Gen- 
eral Washington. He next received com- 
mand of a New York battalion and partici- 
pated in the battle of Yorktown. After 
this Hamilton studied law, served several 
terms in congress and was a member of the 
convention at which the Federal Constitu- 
tion was drawn up. His work connected 
with " The Federalist " at about this time 
attracted much attention. Mr. Hamilton 



^2 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



was chosen as the first secretary of the 
United States treasury and as such was the 
author of the funding system and founder of 
the United States Bank. In 1798 he was 
made inspector-general of the army with the 
rank of major-general and was also for a 
short time commander-in-chief. In 1804 
Aaron Burr, then candidate for governor of 
New York, challenged Alexander Hamilton 
to fight a duel. Burr attributing his defeat 
to Hamilton's opposition, and Hamilton, 
though declaring the code as a relic of bar- 
barism, accepted the challenge. They met 
at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804. 
Hamilton declined to fire at his adversary, 
but at Burr's first fire was fatally wounded 
and died July 12, 1804. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPH- 
ENS, vice-president of the southern 
confederacy, a former United States senator 
and governor of Georgia, ranks among the 
great men of American history. He was born 
February 11, 18 12, near Crawfordsville, 
Georgia. He was a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Georgia, and admitted to the bar 
in 1834. In 1837 he made his debut in 
political life as a member of the state house 
of representatives, and in 1 84 1 declined the 
nomination for the same office; but in 1842 
he was chosen by the same constituency as 
state senator. Mr. Stephens was one of 
the promoters of the Western and Atlantic 
Railroad. In 1843 he was sent by his dis- 
trict to the national house of representatives, 
which office he held for sixteen consec- 
utive years. He was a member of the 
house during the passing of the Compromise 
Bill, and was one of its ablest and most 
active supporters. The same year (1850) 
Mr. Stephens was a delegate to the state 
■convention that framed the celebrated 
" Georgia Platform," and was also a dele- 



gate to the convention that passed the ordi- 
nance of secession, though he bitterly op- 
posed that bill by voice and vote, yet he 
readily acquiesced in their decision after 
it received the votes of the majority of the 
convention. He was chosen vice-president 
of the confederacy without opposition, and 
in 1865 he was the head of the commis- 
sion sent by the south to the Hampton 
Roads conference. He was arrested after 
the fall of the confederacy and was con- 
fined in Fort Warren as a prisoner of state 
but was released on his own parole. Mr. 
Stephens was elected to the forty-third, 
forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth and for- 
ty-seventh congresses, with hardly more than 
nominal opposition. He was one of the 
Jeffersonian school of American politics. 
He wrote a number of works, principal 
among which are: "Constitutional View 
of the War between the States," and a 
" Compendium of the History of the United 
States." He was inaugurated as governor 
of Georgia November 4th, 1882, but died 
March 4, 1883, before the completion of 
his term. 

ROSCOE CONKLING was one of the 
most noted and famous of American 
statesmen. He was among the most fin- 
ished, fluent and eloquent orators that have 
ever graced the halls of the American con- 
gress; ever ready, witty and bitter in de- 
bate he was at once admired and feared by 
his political opponents and revered by his 
followers. True to his friends, loyal to the 
last degree to those with whom his inter- 
ests were associated, he was unsparing to his 
foes and it is said "never forgot an injury." 
Roscoe Conkling was born at Albany, 
New York, on the 30th of October, 1829, 
being a son of Alfred Conkling. Alfred 
Conkling was also a native of New York, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIli: 



33 



born at East Hampton, October 12, 1789, 
and became one of the most eminent law- 
j-ers in the Empire state; published several 
legal works; served a term in congress; aft- 
erward as United States district judge for 
Northern New York, and in 1852 was min- 
ister to Mexico. Alfred Conkling died in 
1874. 

Roscoe Conkling, whose name heads 
this article, at an early age took up the 
study of law and soon became successful and 
prominent at the bar. About 1846 he re- 
moved to Utica and in 1858 was elected 
mayor of that city. He was elected repre- 
sentative in congress from this district and 
was re-elected three times. In 1867 he was 
elected United States senator from the state 
of New York and was re-elected in 1873 
and 1879. In May, 1881, he resigned on 
account of differences with the president. 
In March, 1S82, he was appointed and con- 
firmed as associate justice of the United 
States supreme court but declined to serve. 
His death occurred April 18, 1888. 



WASHINGTON IRVING, one of the 
most eminent, talented and popu- 
lar of American authors, was born in New 
York City, April 3, 1783. His father was 
William Irving, a merchant and a native of 
Scotland, who had married an English lady 
and emigrated to America some twenty 
years prior to the birth of Washington. 
Two of the older sons, William and Peter, 
were partially occupied with newspaper 
work and literary pursuits, and this fact 
naturally inclined Washington to follow 
their example. Washington Irving was given 
the advantages afforded by the common 
schools until about sixteen years of age 
when he began studying law, but continued 
to acquire his hterary training by" diligent 
perusal at home of the older English writers. 



When nineteen he made his first literary 
venture by printing in the ' ' Morning Chroni- 
cle," then edited by his brother. Dr. Peter 
Irving, a series of local sketches under the 
nom-dc-plumc oi " Jonathan Oldstyle." In 
1804 he began an extensive trip through 
Europe, returned in 1806, quickly com- 
pleted his legal studies and was admitted to 
the bar, but never practiced the profession. 
In 1807 he began the amusing serial "Sal- 
magundi," which had an immediate suc- 
cess, and not only decided his future 
career but long determined the charac- 
ter of his writings. In 180S, assisted by 
his brother Peter, he wrote " Knickerbock- 
er's History of New York," and in 18 10 an 
excellent biography of Campbell, the poet, 
After this, for some time, Irving's attention 
was occupied by mercantile interests, but 
the commercial house in which he was a 
partner failed in 1817. In 1S14 he was 
editor of the Philadelphia " Analectic Maga- 
zine." About 1 81 8 appeared his "Sketch- 
Book, " over the nom-de-plumc of ' 'Geoffrey 
Crayon," which laid the foundation of Ir- 
ving's fortune and permanent fame. This 
was soon followed by the legends of 
"Sleepy Hollow," and " Rip Van Winkle," 
which at once took high rank as literary 
productions, and Irving's reputation was 
firmly established in both the old and new 
worlds. After this the path of Irving was 
smooth, and his subsequent writings ap- 
peared with rapidity, including "Brace- 
bridge Hall," "The Tales of a Traveler," 
" History of the Life and Voyages of Chris- 
topher Columbus," "The Conquest of 
Granada," "The Alhambra," "Tour on 
the Prairies," "Astoria," "Adventures of 
Captain Bonneville," "Wolfert's Roost," 
" Mahomet and his Successors," and "Life 
of Washington," besides other works. 

Washington Irving was never married. 



84 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



He resided during the closing years of his 
life at Sunnyside (Tarrytown) on the Hud- 
son, where he died November 28, 1859. 



CHARLES SUMNER.— Boldly outlined 
on the pages of our history stands out 
the rugged figure of Charles Sumner, states- 
man, lawyer and writer. A man of unim- 
peachable integrity, indomitable will and 
with the power of tireless toil, he was a fit 
leader in troublous times. First in rank as 
an anti-slavery leader in the halls of con- 
gress, he has stamped his image upon the 
annals of his time. As an orator he took 
front rank and, in wealth of illustration, 
rhetoric and lofty tone his eloquence equals 
anything to be found in history. 

Charles Sumner was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, January 6, 181 1, and was 
the son of Charles P. and Relief J. Sumner. 
The family had long been prominent in that 
state. Charles was educated at the Boston 
Public Latin School; entered Harvard Col- 
lege in 1826, and graduated therefrom in 
1830. In 1 83 1 he joined the Harvard Lav/ 
School, then under charge of Judge Story, 
and gave himself up to the study of law 
with enthusiasm. His leisure was devoted 
to contributing to the American Jurist. Ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1834 he was appointed 
reporter to the circuit court by Judge Story. 
He published several works about this time, 
and from 1835 to 1837 and again in 1843 
was lecturer in the law school. He had 
planned a lawyer's life, but in 1845 he gave 
his attention to politics, speaking and working 
against the admission of Texas to the Union 
and subsequentl}' against the Mexican war. 
In 1848 he was defeated for congress on the 
Free Soil ticket. His stand on the anti- 
slavery question at that time alienated both 
friends and clients, but he never swerved 
from his convictions. In 1851 he was elected 



to the United States senate and took his 
seat therein December i of that year. From 
this time his life became the history of the 
anti-slavery cause in congress. In August, 
1852, he began his attacks on slavery by a 
masterly argument for the repeal of the 
fugitive slave law. On May 22, 1856, Pres- 
ton Brooks, nephew of Senator Butler, of 
South Carolina, made an attack upon Mr. 
Sumner, at his desk in the senate, striking 
him over the head with a heavy cane. The 
attack was quite serious in its effects and 
kept Mr. Sumner absent from his seat in the 
senate for about four years. In 1857, 1863 
and 1869 he was re-elected to the office of 
senator, passing some twenty-three years in 
that position, always advocating the rights 
of freedom and equity. He died March 11, 
1874- 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, the third pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
near Charlottesville, Albemarle county, Vir- 
ginia, April 13, 1743, and was the son of 
Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson. He 
received the elements of a good education, 
and in 1760 entered \\'illiam and Mary Col- 
lege. After remaining in that institution for 
two years he took up the study of law with 
George Wythe, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 
one of the foremost lawyers of his day, and 
was admitted to practice in 1767. He ob- 
tained a large and profitable practice, which 
he held for eight years. The conflict be- 
tween Great Britain and the Colonies then 
drew him into public life, he having for 
some time given his attention to the study 
of the sources of law, the origin of liberty 
and equal rights. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to the Virginia 
house of burgesses in 1769, and served in 
that body several years, a firm supporter of 
liberal measures, and, although a slave- 



II 



II 



COMPENDIU.^r OF BlOGRAPHl'. 



85 



holder himself, an opponent of slavery. 
With others, he was a leader among the op- 
position to the king. He took his place as 
a member of the Continental congress June 
21, 1775, and after serving on several com- 
mittees was appointed to draught a Declara- 
tion of Independence, which he did, some 
corrections being suggested by Dr. Franklin 
and John Adams. This document was pre- 
sented to congress June 28, 1776, and after 
six days' debate was passed and was signed. 
In the following September Mr. Jefferson 
resumed his seat in the Virginia legislature, 
and gave much time to the adapting of laws 
of that state to the new condition of things. 
He drew up the law, the first ever passed by 
a legislature or adopted by a government, 
which secured perfect religious freedom. 
June I, 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry 
as governor of Virginia, an office which, 
after co operating with Washington in de- 
fending the country, he resigned two years 
later. One of his own estates was ravaged 
by the British, and his house at Monticello 
was held by Tarleton for several days, and 
Jefferson narrowly escaped capture. After 
the death of his wife, in 1782, he accepted 
the position of plenipotentiary to France, 
which he had declined in 1776. Before 
leaving he served a short time in congress 
at Annapolis, and succeeded in carrying a 
bill for establishing our present decimal sys- 
tem of currency, one of his most useful pub- 
lic services. He remained in an official ca- 
pacity until October, 1789, and was a most 
active and vigilant minister. Besides the 
onerous duties of 1 is office, during this time, 
he published "Notes on Virginia," sent to 
the United States seeds, shrubs and plants, 
forwarded literary and scientific news and 
gave useful advice to some of the leaders of 
the French Revolution. 

Mr. Jefferson landed in Virginia Novem- 



ber 18, 1789, having obtained a leave of 
absence from his post, and shortly after ac- 
cepted Washington's offer of the portfolio 
of the department of state in his cabinet. 
He entered upon the duties of his office in 
March, 1791, and held it until January i, 
1794, when he tendered his resignation. 
About this time he and Alexander Hamilton 
became decided and aggressive political op- 
ponents, Jefferson being in warm sympathy 
with the people in the French revolution 
and strongly democratic in his feelings, 
while Hamilton took the opposite side. In 
1796 Jefferson was elected vice-president of 
the United States. In 1800 he was elected 
to the presidency and was inaugurated 
March 4, 1801. During his administration, 
which lasted for eight years, he having been 
re-elected in 1804, he waged a successful 
war against the Tripolitan pirates; purchased 
Louisiana of Napoleon; reduced the public 
debt, and was the originator of many wise 
measures. Declining a nomination for a 
third term he returned to Monticello, where 
he died July 4, 1826, but a few hours before 
the death of his friend, John Adams. 

Mr. Jefferson was married January i, 
1772, to Mrs. Martha Skelton, a young, 
beautiful, and wealthy widow, who died 
September 6, 1782, leaving three children, 
three more having died previous to her 
demise. 

CORNELIUS VANDERBILT,known as 
"Commodore" Vanderbilt, was the 
founder of what constitutes the present im- 
mense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. He 
was born May 27, 1794, at Port Richmond, 
Staten Island, Richmond county, New 
York, and we find him at sixteen years run- 
ning a small vessel between his home and 
New York City. The fortifications of Sta- 
ten and Long Islands were just in course of 



8(5 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



construction, and he carried the laborers 
from New York to the fortifications in his 
" perianger, " as it was called, in the day, 
and at night carried supplies to the fort on 
the Hudson. Later he removed to New 
York, where he added to his little fleet. At 
the age of twenty- three he was free from 
debt and was worth $9,000, and in 18 17, 
with a partner he built the first steamboat 
that was run between New York and New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, and became her 
captain at a salary of $1,000 a year. The 
next year he took command of a larger and 
better boat and by 1824 he was in complete 
control of the Gibbon's Line, as it was 
called, which he had brought up to a point 
where it paid $40,000 a year. Commodore 
Vandertilt acquired the ferry between New 
York and Elizabethport, New Jersey, on a 
fourt«en years' lease and conducted this on 
a paying basis. He severed his connections 
with Gibbons in 1829 and engaged in 
business alone and for twenty years he was 
the leading steamboat man in the country, 
building and operating steamboats on the 
Hudson River, Long Island Sound, on the 
Delaware River and the route to Boston, 
and he had the monopoly of trade on these 
routes. In 1S50 he determined to broaden 
his field of operation and accordingly built 
the steamship Prometheus and sailed for 
the Isthmus of Darlen, where he desired to 
make a personal investigation of the pros- 
pects of the American Atlantic and Pacific 
Ship Canal Company, in which he had pur- 
chased a controlling interest. Commodore 
Vanderbilt planned, as a result of this visit, 
a transit route from Greytown on the At- 
lantic coast to San Juan del Sud on the Pa- 
cific coast, which was a saving of 700 miles 
over the old route. In 1851 he placed three 
steamers on the Atlantic side and four on 
the Pacific side to accommodate the enor- 



mous traffic occasioned by the discovery of 
gold in California. The following year 
three more vessels were added to his fleet 
and a branch line established from New 
Orleans to Greytown. In 1853 the Com- 
modore sold out hisNicarauguaTransit Com- 
pany, which had netted him $1,000,000 
and built the renowned steam yacht, the 
"North Star." He continued in the ship- 
ping business nine years longer and accu- 
mulated some $10,000,000. In 1861 he 
presented to the government his magnifi- 
cent steamer "Vanderbilt, " which had cost 
him $800,000 and for which he received the 
thanks of congress. In 1844 he became 
interested in the railroad business which he 
followed in later years and became one of 
the greatest railroad magnates of his time. 
He founded the Vanderbilt University at a 
cost of $1,000,000. He died January 4, 
1877, leaving a fortune estimated at over 
$100,000,000 to his children. 



DANIEL BOONE was one of the most 
famous of the many American scouts, 
pioneers and hunters which the early settle- 
ment of the western states brought into 
prominence. Daniel Boone was born Feb- 
ruary II, 1735, in Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania, but while yet a young man removed 
to North Carolina, where he was married. 
In 1769, with five companions, he pene- 
trated into the forests and wilds of Kentucky 
— then uninhabited by white men. He had 
frequent conflicts with the Indians and was 
captured by them but escaped and continued 
to hunt in and explore that region for over 
a year, when, in 1771, he returned to his 
home. In the summer of 1773, he removed 
with his own and five other families into 
what was then the wilderness of Kentucky, 
and to defend his colony against the savages, 
he built, in 1775, a fort at Boonesborough, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



37 



on the Kentucky river. This fort was at- 
tacked by the Indians several times in 1777, 
but they were repulsed. The following 
year, however, Boone was surprised and 
captured by them. They took him to De- 
troit and treated him with leniency, but he 
soon escaped and returned to his fort which 
he defended with success against four hun- 
dred and fifty Indians in August, 1778. His 
son, Enoch Boone, was the first white male 
child born in the state of Kentucky. In 
1795 Daniel Boone removed with his family 
to Missouri, locating about forty-five miles 
west of the present site of St. Louis, where 
he found fresh fields for his favorits pursuits 
— adventure, hunting, and pioneer hfe. His 
death occurred September 20, 1820. 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFEL- 
LOW, said to have been America's 
greatest "poet of the people," was born at 
Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. He 
entered Bowdoin College at the age of four- 
teen, and graduated in 1825. During his 
college days he distinguished himself in mod- 
ern languages, and wrote several short 
poems, one of the best known of which was 
the " Hymn of the Moravian Nuns." After 
his graduation he entered the law office of 
his father, but the following year was offered 
the professorship of modern languages at 
Bowdoin, with the privilege of three years 
study in Europe to perfect himself in French, 
Spanish, Italian and German. After the 
three years were passed he returned to the 
United States and entered upon his profes- 
sorship in 1829. His first volume was a 
small essay on the "Moral and Devotional 
Poetry of Spain" in 1833. In 1835 he pub- 
lished some prose sketches of travel under 
the title of "Outre Mer, a Pilgrimage be- 
yond the Sea." In 1835 he was elected to 
the chair of modern languages and literature 



at Harvard University and spent a year in 
Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, culti- 
vating a knowledge of early Scandinavian 
literature and entered upon his professor- 
ship in 1836. Mr. Longfellow published in 
1839 " Hyperion, aRomance," and "Voices 
of the Night, " and his first volume of original 
verse comprising the selected poems of 
twenty years work, procured him immediate 
recognition as a poet. " Ballads and other 
poems" appeared in 1842, the "Spanish 
Student" a drama in three acts, in 1843, 
"The Belfry of Bruges " in 1846, "Evan- 
geline, a Tale of Acadia," in 1847, which 
was considered his master piece. In 1845 
he published a large volume of the "Poets 
and Poetry of Europe," 1849 " Kavanagh, 
a Tale," "The Seaside and Fireside" in 
1850, "The Golden Legend " in 1 85 1, "The 
Song of Hiawatha " in 1855, "The Court- 
ship of Miles Standish " in 1858, " Tales of 
a Wayside Inn " in 1863; " Flower de Luce' 
in 1866;" "New England Tragedies" in 
1869; "The Divine Tragedy" in 1871; 
"Three Books of Song" in 1872; "The 
Hanging of the Crane " in 1874. He also 
published a masterly translation of Dante 
in 1867-70 and the " Morituri Salutamus," 
a poem read at the fiftieth anniversary of 
his class at Bowdoin College. Prof. Long- 
fellow resigned his chair at Harvard Univer- 
sity in 1854, but continued to reside at Cam- 
bridge. Some of his poetical works have 
been translated into many languages, and 
their popularity rivals that of the best mod- 
ern English poetry. He died March 24, 
18S2, but has left an imperishable fame as 
one of the foremost of American poets. 



PETER COOPER was in three partic- 
ulars — as a capitalist and manufacturer, 
as an inventor, and as a philanthropist — 
connected intimately with some of the most 



88 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



important and useful accessions to the in- 
dustrial arts of America, its progress in in- 
ve.ilion and the promotion of educational 
and beneviient institutions intended for the 
benefit of people at large. He was born 
in New York city, February I2, 1791. His 
life was one of labor and struggle, as it was 
with most of America's successful men. In 
early boyhood he commenced to help his 
'ather as a manufacturer of hats. He at- 
tended school only for half of each day for 
a single year, and beyond this his acquisi- 
tions were all his own. When seventeen 
years old he was placed with John Wood- 
ward to learn the trade of coach-making and 
served his apprenticeship so satisfactorily 
that his master oF"red to set him up in busi- 
ness, but this he declined because of the 
debt and obligation it would involve. 

The foundation of Mr. Cooper's fortune 
was laid in the invention of an improvement 
in machines for shearing cloth. This was 
largely called into use during the war of 
18 1 2 with England when all importations 
of cloth from that country were stopped. 
The machines lost their value, however, on 
the declaration of peace. Mr. Cooper then 
turned his shop into the manufacture of 
cabinet ware. He afterwards went into the 
grocery business in New York and finally he 
engaged in the manufacture of glue and isin- 
glass which he carried on for more than 
fifty years. In 1830 he erected iron works 
in Canton, near Baltimore. Subsequently 
he erected a rolling and a wire mill in the 
cit>' of New York, in which he first success- 
fully applied anthracite to the puddling of 
iron. In these works, he was the first to 
roll wrought-iron beams for fire-proof build- 
ings. These works grew to be very exten- 
sive, including mines, blast farnaces, etc. 
While in Baltimore Mr. Cooper built in 
1830, after his own designs, the first loco- 



motive engine ever constructed on this con- 
tinent and it was successfully operated on 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He also 
took a great interest and invested large cap- 
ital in the extension of the electric telegraph, 
also in the laying of the first Atlantic cable; 
besides interesting himself largely in the 
New York state canals. But the most 
cherished object of Mr. Cooper's life was 
the establishment of an institution for the 
instruction of the industrial classes, which 
he carried out on a magnificent scale in New 
York city, where the "Cooper Union'' 
ranks among the most important institu- 
tions. 

In May, 1876, the Independent party 
nominated Mr. Cooper for president of the 
United States, and at the election following 
he received nearly 100,000 votes. His 
death occurred April 4, 1883. 



GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 
one of the most conspicuous Confeder- 
ate generals during the Civil war, and one 
of the ablest military commanders of mod- 
ern times, was born at Stratford House, 
Westmoreland county, Virginia, January 19, 
1807. In 1 82 5 he entered the West Point 
academy and was graduated second in his 
class in 1829, and attached to the army as 
second lieutenant of engineers. For a 
number of years he was thus engaged in en- 
gineering work, aiding in establishing the 
boundary line between Ohio and Michigan, 
and superintended various river and harbor 
improvements, becoming captain of engi- 
neers in 1838. He first saw field service in 
the Mexican war, and under General Scott 
performed valuable and efficient service. 
In that brilliant campaign he was conspicu- 
ous for professional ability as well as gallant 
and meritorious conduct, winning in quick 
succession the brevets of major, lieutenant- 



11 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



39 



colonel, and colonel for his part in the bat- 
tles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, 
Chapultepec, and in the capture of the city 
Mexico. At the close of that war he re- 
sumed his engineering work in connection 
with defences along the Atlantic coast, and 
from 1852 to 1855 was superintendent of 
the Military Academy, a position which he 
gave up to become lieutenant-colonel of the 
Second Cavalry. For several years there- 
after he served on the Texas border, but 
happening to be near Washington at the 
time of John Brown's raid, October 17 to 
25, 1859, Colonel Lee was placed in com- 
mand of the Federal forces employed in its 
repression. He soon returned to his regi- 
ment in Texas where he remained the 
greater part of i860, and March 16, 1 861, 
became colonel of his regiment by regular 
promotion. Three weeks later, April 25, he 
resigned upon the secession of Virginia, 
went at once to Richmond and tendered his 
services to the governor of that state, being 
by acclamation appointed commander-in- 
chief of its military and naval forces, with 
the rank of major-general. 

He at once set to work to organize and 
develop the defensive resources of his state 
and within a month directed the occupation 
in force of Manassas Junction. Meanwhile 
Virginia having entered the confederacy and 
Richmond become the capitol, Lee became 
one of the foremost of its military officers 
and was closely connected with Jefferson 
Davis in planning the moves of that tragic 
time. Lee participated in many of the 
hardest fought battles of the war among 
which were Fair Oaks, White Lake Swamps, 
Cold Harbor, and the Chickahominy, Ma- 
nassas, Cedar Run, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville, Malvern Hill, Get- 
tysburg, the battles of the Wilderness cam- 
paign, all the campaigns about Richmond, 



Petersburg, Five Forks, and others. Lee's 
surrender at Appomatox brought the war to 
a close. It is said of General Lee that but 
few commanders in history have been so 
quick to detect the purposes of an opponent 
or so quick to act upon it. Never surpassed, 
if ever equaled, in the art of winning the 
passionate, personal love and admiration of 
his troops, he acquired and held an influ- 
ence over his army to the very last, founded 
upon a supreme trust in his judgment, pre- 
science and skill, coupled with his cool, 
stable, equable courage. A great writer has 
said of him: "As regards the proper meas- 
ure of General Lee's rank among the sol- 
diers of history, seeing what he wrought 
with such resources as he had, under all the 
disadvantages that ever attended his oper- 
ations, it is impossible to measure what he 
might have achieved in campaigns and bat- 
tles with resources at his own disposition 
equal to those against which he invariably 
contended." 

Left at the close of the war without es- 
tate or profession, he accepted the presi- 
dency of Washington College at Lexington, 
Virginia, where he died October 12, 1870. 



JOHN JAY, first chief-justice of the 
United States, was born in New York, 
December 12, 1745. He took up the study 
of law, graduated from King's College 
(Columbia College), and was admitted to 
the bar in 1768. He was chosen a member 
of the committee of New York citizens to 
protest against the enforcement by the 
British government of the Boston Port Bill, 
was elected to the Continental congress 
which met in 1774, and was author of the 
addresses to the people of Great Britian and 
of Canada adopted by that and the suc- 
ceeding congress. He was chosen to the 
provincial assembly of his own state, and 



40 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



resigned from the Continental congress to 
serve in that body, wrote most of its public 
papers, including the constitution of the new 
state, and was then made chief-justice. He 
was again chosen as a member of the Con- 
tinental congress in 177S, and became presi- 
dent of that body. He was sent to Spain 
as minister in 1780, and his services there 
resulted in substantial and moral aid for the 
struggling colonists. Jay, Franklin, and 
Adams negotiated the treaty of peace with 
Great Britain in 1782, and Jay was ap- 
pointed secretary of foreign affairs in 1784, 
and held the position until the adoption of 
the Federal constitution. During this time 
he had contributed strong articles to the 
"Federalist" in favor of the adoption of 
the constitution, and was largely instru- 
mental in securing the ratification of that 
instrument b}- his state. He was appointed 
by Washington as first chief-justice of the 
United States in 1789. In this high capac- 
ity the great interstate and international 
questions that arose for immediate settle- 
ment came before him for treatment. 

In 1794, at a time when the people in 
gratitude for the aid that France had ex- 
tended to us, were clamoring for the privilege 
of going to the aid of that nation in her 
struggle with Great Britain and her own op- 
pressors, John Ji)' was sent to England as 
special envoy to negotiate a treaty with 
that power. The instrument known as 
"Jay's Treaty " was the result, and while 
in many of its features it favored our nation, 
yet the neutrality clause in it so angered the 
masses that it was denounced throughout 
the entire country, and John Jay was burned 
in efifigy in the city of New York. The 
treaty was finally ratified by Washington, 
and approved, in August, 1795. Having 
been elected governor of his state for three 
consecutive terms, he then retired from 



active life, declining an appointment as 
chief-justice of the supreme court, made by 
John Adams and confirmed b}' the senate. 
He died in New York in 1829. 



PHILLIP HENRY SHERIDAN was 
one of the greatest American cavalry 
generals. He was born March 6, 1831, at 
Somerset, Perrj- county, Ohio, and was ap- 
pointed to the United States Military Acad- 
emy at West Point, from which he graduat- 
ed and was assigned to the First Infantrj'as 
brevet second lieutenant July i, 1853. 
After serving in Texas, on the Pacific coast, 
in Washington and Oregon territories until 
the fall of 1 86 1, he was recalled to the 
states and assigned to the army of south- 
west Missouri as chief quartermaster from 
the duties of which he was soon relieved. 
After the battle of Pea Ridge, he was quar- 
termaster in the Corinth campaign, and on 
May 25 he was appointed colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry. On July i, in 
command of a cavalry brigade, he defeated 
a superior force of the enemy and was com- 
missioned brigadier-general of volunteers. 
General Sheridan was then transferred to 
the army of the Ohio, and commanded a 
division in the battle of Perrvsville and also 
did good service at the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, where he was commissioned major- 
general of volunteers. He fought with 
great gallantry at Chickamauga, after which 
Rosecrans was succeeded by General Grant, 
under whom Sheridan fought the battle of 
Chattanooga and won additional renown. 
L'pon the promotion of Grant to lieutenant- 
general, he applied for the transfer of Gen- 
eral Sheridan to the east, and appoint d 
him chief of cavalry in the army of the 
Potomac. During the campaign of 1 864 
the cavalry covered the front and flanks oi 
the infartrv until Mav 8, when it was wu-.-» 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



drawn and General Sheridan started on a 
raid against the Confederate Hoes of com- 
munication with Richmond and on May 25 
he rejoined the army, having destroyed con- 
siderable of the confederate stores and de- 
feated their cavalry under General Stuart at 
Yellow Tavern. The outer line of defences 
around Richmond were taken, but the sec- 
ond line was too strong to be taken by as- 
sault, and accordingly Sheridan crossed the 
Chickahominy at Meadow Bridge, reaching 
James River May 14, and thence by White 
House and Hanover Court House back to 
the army. The cavalry occupied Cold 
Harbor May 31, which they held until the 
arrival of the infantry. On General Sheri- 
dan's ne.xt raid he routed Wade Hampton's 
cavalry, and August 7 was assigned to the 
command of the Middle Military division, 
and during the campaign of the Shenan- 
doah Valley he performed the unheard of 
feat of " destroying an entire army." He 
was appointed brigadier-general of the reg- 
ular army and for his victory at Cedar Creek 
he was promoted to the rank of major-gen- 
eral. General Sheridan started out Febru- 
ary 27, 1865, with ten thousand cavalry 
and destroyed the Virginia Central Railroad 
and the James River Canal and joined the 
army again at Petersburg March 27. He 
commanded at the battle of Five Forks, the 
decisive victory which compelled Lee to 
evacuate Petersburg. On April 9, Lee tried 
to break through Sheridan's dismounted 
command but when the General drew aside 
his cavalry and disclosed the deep lines of 
infantry the attempt was abandoned. Gen- 
eral Sheridan mounted his men and was about 
to charge when a white flag was flown at the 
head of Lee's column which betokened the 
surrender of the army. After the war Gen- 
eral Sheridan had command of the army of 
the southwest, of the gulf and the depart- 



ment of Missouri until he was appointed 
lieutenant-general and assigned to the di- 
vision of Missouri with headquarters at Chi- 
cago, and assumed supreme command of 
the army November i, 1883, which post he 
held until his death, August 5, 1888. 



PHINEAS T. BARNUM, the greatest 
showman the world has ever seen, was 
born at Danbury, Connecticut, July 5, 18 10. 
At the age of eighteen years he began busi- 
ness on his own account. He opened a re- 
tail fruit and confectionery house, including 
a barrel of ale, in one part of an old car- 
riage house. He spent fifty dollars in fitting 
up the store and the stock cost him seventy 
dollars. Three years later he put in a full 
stock, such as is generally carried in a 
country store, and the same year he started 
a Democratic newspaper, known as the 
"Herald of Freedom." He soon found 
himself in jail under a sixty days' sentence 
for libel. During the winter of 1834-5 he 
went to New York and began soliciting busi- 
ness for several Chatham street houses. In 

1835 he embarked in the show business at 
Niblo's Garden, having purchased the cele- 
brated " Joice Heth" for one thousand dol- 
lars. He afterward engaged the celebrated 
athlete, Sig. Vivalia, and Barnum made his 
"first appearance on any stage," acting as a 
"super" to Sig. Vivalia on his opening 
night. He became ticket seller, secretary 
and treasurer of Aaron Turner's circus in 

1836 and traveled with it about the country. 
His next venture was the purchase of a 
steamboat on the Mississippi, and engaged 
a theatrical company to show in the princi- 
pal towns along that river. In 1840 he 
opened Vaux Hall Garden, New York, with 
variety performances, and introduced the 
celebrated jig dancer, John Diamond, to the 
public. The next year he quit the show 



42 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHV. 



business and settled down in New York as 
agent of Sear's Pictorial Illustration of the 
Bible, but a few months later again leased 
Vaux Hall. In September of the same year 
he again left the business, and became 
' ' puff " writer for the Bowery Amphitheater. 
In December he bought the Scudder Museum, 
and a year later introduced the celebrated 
Tom Thumb to the world, taking him to 
England in 1844, and remaining there three 
3'ears. He then returned to New York, and 
in 1849, through James Hall Wilson, he en- 
gaged the "Swedish Nightingale," Jenny 
Lind, to come to this country and make a 
tour under his management. He also had 
sent the Swiss Bell Ringers to America in 
1844. He became owner of the Baltimore 
Museum and the Lyceum and Museum at 
Philadelphia. In 1850 he brought a dozen 
elephants from Ceylon to make a tour of this 
country, and in 1851 sent the " Bateman 
Children" to London. During 1S51 and 
1852 he traveled as a temperance lecturer, 
and became president of a bank at Pequon- 
nock, Connecticut. In 1852 he started a 
weekly pictorial paper known as the " Illus- 
trated News." In 1865 his Museum was 
destroyed by fire, and he immediately leased 
the Winter Garden Theatre, where he played 
his company until he opened his own 
Museum. This was destroyed by tire in 
1868, and he then purchased an interest in 
the George Wood Museum. 

After dipping into politics to some ex- 
tant, he began his career as a really great 
showman in 1S71. Three years later he 
erected an immense circular building in New 
York, in which he produced his panoramas. 
He has frequently appeared as a lecturer, 
some times on temperance, and some times 
on other topics, among which were ' ' Hum- 
bugs of the World," "Struggles and 
Triumphs," etc. He was owner of the im- 



mense menagerie and circus known as the 
"Greatest Show on Earth," and his fame 
extended throughout Europe and America. 
He died in 1891. 



JAMES MADISON, the fourth president 
of the United States, 1809-17, was 
born at Port Conway, Prince George coun- 
ty, Virginia, March 16, 1751. He was the 
son of a wealthy planter, who lived on a fine 
estate called " Montpelier," which was but 
twenty-five miles from Monticello, the home 
of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Madison was the 
eldest of a family of seven children, all of 
whom attained maturity. He received his 
early education at home under a private 
tutor, and consecrated himself with unusual 
vigor to study. At a very early age he was 
a proficient scholar in Latin, Greek, French 
and Spanish, and in 1769 he entered Prince- 
ton College, New Jersey. He graduated ia 
1 77 1, but remained for several months after 
his graduation to pursue a course of study 
under the guidance of Dr. Witherspoon. 
He permanently injured his health at this 
time and returned to Virginia in 1772, and 
for two years he was immersed in the study 
of law, and at the same time made extend- 
ed researches in theology, general literature, 
and philosophical studies. He then directed 
his full attention to the impending struggle 
of the colonies for independence, and also 
took a prominent part in the religious con- 
troversy at that time regarding so called 
persecution of other religious denominations 
by the Church of England. Mr. Madison 
was elected to the Virginia assembly in 1776 
and in November, 1777, he was chosen 
a member of the council of state. He took 
his seat in the continental congress in 
March, 1780. He was made chairman of 
the committee on foreign relations, and 
drafted an able memoranda for the use of 




COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



43 



the American ministers to the French and 
Spanish governments, that estabHshed the 
claims of the republic to the territories be- 
tween the Alleghany Mountains and the 
Mississippi River. He acted as chairman of 
the ways and means committee in 1783 and 
as a member of the Virginia legislature in 
1784-86 he rendered important services to 
the state. Mr. Madison represented Vir- 
giana in the national constitutional conven- 
tion at Philadelphia in 1787, and was one of 
the chief framers of the constitution. He 
was a member of the first four congresses, 
1789-97, and gradually became identified 
with the anti-federalist or republican party 
of which he eventually became the leader. 
He remained in private life during the ad- 
ministration of John Adams, and was secre- 
tary of state under President Jefferson. Mr. 
Madison administered the affairs of that 
post with such great ability that he was the 
natural successor of the chief magistrate 
and was chosen president by an electoral 
vote of 122 to 53. He was inaugurated 
March 4, 1809, at that critical period incur 
history when the feelings of the people were 
embittered with those of England, and his 
first term was passed in diplomatic quarrels, 
which finally resulted in the declaration of 
war, June 18, 1812. In the autumn of that 
year President Madison was re-elected by a 
vote of 128 to 89, and conducted the war 
for three years with varying success and 
defeat in Canada, by glorious victories at 
sea, and by the battle of New Orleans that 
was fought after the treaty of peace had 
been signed at Ghent, December 24, 18 14. 
During this war the national capitol at 
Washington was burned, and many valuable 
papers were destroyed, but the declaration 
of independence was saved to the country 
by the bravery and courage of Mr. Madi- l 
son's illustrious wife. A commercial treaty I 



was negotiated with Great Britain in 181 5, 
and in April, 18 16, a national bank was in- 
corporated by congress. Mr. Madison was 
succeeded, March 4, 1817, by James Monroe, 
and retired into private life on his estate at 
Montpelier, where he died June 28, 1836. 



FREDERICK DOUGLASS, a noted 
American character, was a protege of 
the great abolitionist, William Lloyd Garri- 
son, by whom he was aided in gaining his 
education. Mr. Douglass was born in Tuck- 
ahoe county, Maryland, in February, 18 17, 
his mother being a negro woman and his 
father a white man. He was born in slav- 
ery and belonged to a man by the name of 
Lloyd, under which name he went until he 
ran away from his master and changed it to 
Douglass. At the age of ten years he was 
sent to Baltimore where he learned to read 
and write, and later his owner allowed him 
to hire out his own time for three dollars a 
week in a shipyard. In September, 1838, 
he fled from Baltimore and made his way to 
New York, and from thence went to New 
Bedford, Massachusetts. Here he was mar- 
ried and supported him.self and family by 
working at the wharves and in various work- 
shops. In the summer of 1841 he attended 
an anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, 
and made a speech which was so well re- 
ceived that he was offered the agency of the 
Massachusetts Anti-slaverj- Society. In this 
capacity he traveled through the New En- 
gland states, and about the same time he 
published his first book called "Narrative 
of my Experience in Slavery." Mr. Doug- 
lass went to England in 1845 and lectured 
on slavery to large and enthusiastic audi- 
ences in all the large towns of the country, 
and his friends made up a purse of seven 
hundred and fifty dollars and purchased his 
freedom in due form of law. 



44 



COMPENDICM or BIOGRAPHT. 



Mr. Douglass applied himself to the de- 
livery of lyceum lectures after the abolition 
of slavery, and in 1870 he became the editor 
of the " New National Era " in Washington. 
In 1 87 1 he was appointed assistant secretary 
of the commission to San Domingo and on 
his return he was appointed one of the ter- 
ritorial council for the District of Colorado 
by President Grant. He was elected presi- 
dential elector-at-large for the state of New 
York and was appointed to carry the elect- 
oral vote to Washington. He was also 
United States marshal for the District of 
Columbia in 187C, and latei was recorder 
of deeds for the same, from which position 
he was removed by President Cleveland in 
1886. In the fall of that year he visited 
England to inform the friends that he had 
made while there, of the progress of the 
colored race in America, and on his return 
he was appointed minister to Hayti, by 
President Harrison in 1889. His career as 
a benefactor of his race was closed by his 
death in February, 1895, near Washington. 



WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.— The 
ear for rhythm and the talent for 
graceful expression are the gifts of nature, 
and they were plentifully endowed on the 
above named poet. The principal charac- 
teristic of his poetry is the thoughtfulness 
and intellectual process by which his ideas 
ripened in his mind, as all his poems are 
bright, clear and sweet. Mr. Bryant was 
born November 3, 1794, at Cummington, 
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and was 
educated at Williams College, from which 
he graduated, having entered it in 18 10. 
He took up the study of law, and in 18 15 
was admitted to the bar, but after practicing 
successfully for ten years at Plainfield and 
Great Barrington, he removed to New York 
in 1825. The following year he became 



the editor of the "Evening Post," which 
he edited until his death, and under his di- 
rection this paper maintained, through a 
long series of years, a high standing by the 
boldness of its protests against slavery be- 
fore the war, by its vigorous support of the 
government during the war, and by the 
fidelity and ability of its advocacy of the 
Democratic freedom in trade. Mr. Bry- 
ant visited Europe in 1834, 1845, 1849 and 
1857, and presented to the literary world 
the fruit of his travels in the series of "Let- 
ters of a Traveler," and "Letters from 
Spain and Other Countries." In the world 
of literature he is known chiefly as a poet, 
and here Mr. Bryant's name is illustrious, 
both at home and abroad. He contributed 
verses to the "Country Gazette " before he 
was ten years of age, and at the age of nine- 
teen he wrote " Thanatopsis, " the most im- 
pressive and widely known of his poems. 
The later outgrowth of his genius was his 
translation of Homer's "Iliad" in 1870 
and the "Odyssey" in 1871. He also 
made several speeches and addresses which 
have been collected in a comprehensive vol- 
ume called " Orations and Addresses." He 
was honored in many ways by his fellow 
citizens, who delighted to pay tributes of 
respect to his literary eminence, the breadth 
of his public spirit, the faithfulness of his 
service, and the worth of his private char- 
acter. Mr. Bryant died in New York City 
June 12. 1878. 



WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, the 
secretary of state during one of tlie 
most critical times in the history of our 
country, and the right hand man of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, ranks among the greatest 
statesmen America has produced. Mr. 
Seward was born May 16, 1 801, at Florida, 
Orange county. New York, and with such 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



47 



facilities as the place afforded he fitted him- 
self for a colleo;e course. He attended 
Union College at Schenectady, New York, 
at the age of fifteen, and took his degree in 
the regular course, with signs of promise in 
1820, after which he diligently addressed 
himself to the study of law under competent 
instructors, and started in the practice of 
his profession in 1823. 

Mr. Seward entered the political arena 
and in 1828 we find him presiding over a 
convention in New York, its purpose being 
the nomination of John Quincy Adams for a 
second term. He was married in 1824 and 
in 1830 was elected to the state senate. 
From 1838 to 1842 he was governor of the 
state of New York. Mr. Seward's next im- 
portant position was that of United States 
senator from New York. 

W. H. Seward was chosen by President 
Lincoln to fill the important office of the 
secretary of state, and by his firmness and 
diplomacy in the face of difficulties, he aided 
in piloting the Union through that period of 
strife, and won an everlasting fame. This 
great statesman died at Auburn, New York, 
October 10, 1872, in the seventy-second 
year of his eventful life. 



JOSEPH JEFFERSON, a name as dear 
as it is familiar to the theater-going 
world in America, suggests first of all a fun- 
loving, drink-loving, mellow voiced, good- 
natured Dutchman, and the name of "Rip 
Van Winkle " suggests the pleasant features 
of Joe Jefferson, so intimately are play and 
player associated in the minds of those who 
have had the good fortune to shed tears of 
laughter and sympathy as a tribute to the 
greatness of his art. Joseph Jefferson was 
born in Philadelphia, February 20, 1829. 
His genius was an inheritance, if there be 

such, as his great-grandfather, Thomas 
3 



Jefferson, was a manager and actor in Eng 
land. His grandfather, Joseph Jefferson, 
was the most popular comedian of the New 
York stage in his time, and his father, Jos- 
eph Jefferson, the second, was a good actor 
also, but the third Joseph Jefferson out- 
shone them all. 

At the age of three years Joseph Jeffer- 
son came on the stage as the child in "Pi- 
zarro," and his training was upon the stage 
from childhood. Later on he lived and 
acted in Chicago, Mobile, and Texas. After 
repeated misfortunes he returned to New 
Orleans from Texas, and his brother-in-law, 
Charles Burke, gave him money to reach 
Philadelphia, where he joined the Burton 
theater company. Here his genius soon as- 
serted itself, and his future became promis- 
ing and brilliant. His engagements through- 
out the United States and Australia were 
generally successful, and when he went to 
England in 1865 Mr. Boucicault consented 
to make some important changes in his 
dramatization of Irving's story of Rip Van 
Winkle, and Mr. Jefferson at once placed 
it in the front rank as a comedy. He made 
a fortune out of it, and played nothing else 
for many years. In later years, however, 
Mr. Jefferson acquitted himself of the charge 
of being a one-part actor, and the parts of 
"Bob Acres," "Caleb Plummer" and 
"Golightly " all testify to the versatility of 
his genius. 

GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN, 
a noted American general, was born 
in Philadelphia, December 3, 1826. He 
graduated from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1S46 from West Point, and 
was breveted second lieutenant of engineers. 
He was with Scott in the Mexican war, 
taking part in all the engagements from 
Vera Cruz to the final capture of the Mexi- 



4d 



COMPEXDICM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



can capital, and was breveted first lieuten- 
ant and captain for gallantry displayed on 
various occasions. In 1857 he resigned his 
commission and accepted the position of 
chief engineer in the construction of the 
Illinois Central Railroad, and became presi- 
dent of the St. Louis & Cincinnati Railroad 
Company. He was commissioned major- 
general by the state of Ohio in 1861, 
placed in command of the department of 
the Ohio, and organized the first volunteers 
called for from that state. In May he %vas 
appointed major-general in the United 
States army, and ordered to disperse the 
confederates overrunning West Virginia. 
He accomplished this task promptly, and 
received the thanks of congress. After the 
first disaster at Bull Run he was placed 
in command of the department of Wash- 
ington, and a few weeks later of the 
Army of the Potomac. Upon retirement 
of General Scott the command of the en- 
tire United States armj- devolved upon Mc- 
Clellan, but he was relieved of it within a 
few months. In March, 1862. after elabor- 
ate preparation, he moved upon Manassas, 
only to find it deserted by the Confederate 
army, which had been withdrawn to im- 
pregnable defenses prepared nearer Rich- 
mond. He then embarked his armies for 
Fortress Monroe and after a long delay at 
Yorktown, began the disastrous Peninsular 
campaign, which resulted in the Army of the 
Potomac being cooped up on the James 
River below Richmond. His forces were 
then called to the support of General Pope, 
near Washington, and he was left without an 
army. After Popes defeat McClellan was 
placed in command of the troops for the de- 
fense of the capital, and after a thorough or- 
ganization he followed Lee into Marjland 
and the battles of Antietam and South Moun- 
tain ensued. The delav which followed 



caused general dissatisfaction, and he %va3 re- 
lieved of his command. and retired from active 
service. 

In 1S64 McClellan was nominated for 
the presidency by the Democrats, and over- 
whelmingly defeated "by Lincoln, three 
states only casting their electoral votes for 
McClellan. On election day he resigned 
his commission and a few months later went 
to Europe where he spent several years. 
He wTote a number of militarj- text- books 
and reports. His death occurred October 
29, 1885. 

SAMUEL J. TILDEX.— Among the great 
statesmen whose names adorn the pages 
of American history may be found that of 
the subject of this sketch. Known as a 
lawyer of highest ability, his greatest claim 
to immortalit}- will ever lie in his successful 
battle against the corrupt rings of his native 
state and the elevation of the standard of 
official life. 

Samuel J. Tilden was bom in New Leb- 
anon, New York, Februarj' 9. 18 14. He 
pursued his academic studies at Yale Col- 
lege and the University of New York, tak- 
ing the course of law at the latter. He 
was admitted to the bjir in 1841. His rare 
ability as a thinker and writer upon public 
topics attracted the attention of President 
Van Buren. of whose policy and adminis- 
tration he became an active and efficient 
champion. He made for himself a high 
place in his profession and amassed quite a 
fortune as the result of his industry" and 
judgment. During the days of his greatest 
professional labor he was ever one of the 
leaders and trusted counsellors of the Demo- 
cratic party. He was a member of the 
conventions to revise the state constitution, 
both in 1846 and 1867, and served two 
terms in the lower branch of the state leg- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



49 



islature. He was one of the controlling 
spirits in the overthrow of the notorious 
"Tweed rins,' " and the reformation of the 
government of the city of New York. In 
1874 he was elected governor of the state 
of New York. While in this position he 
assailed corruption in high places, success- 
fully battling with the iniquitous "canal 
ring " and crushed its sway over all depart- 
ments of the government. Recognizing his 
character and executive ability Mr. Tilden 
was nominated for president by the na- 
tional Democratic convention in 1876. At 
the election he received a much larger popu- 
lar vote than his opponent, and i 84 uncon- 
tested electoral votes. There being some 
electoral votes contested, a commission ap- 
pointed by congress decided in favor of the 
Republican electors and Mr. Hayes, the can- 
didate of that party was declared elected. 
In 1880, the Democratic party, feeling that 
Mr. Tilden had been lawfully elected to the 
presidency tendered the nomination for the 
same office to Mr. Tilden, but he declined, 
retiring from all public functions, owing to 
failing health. He died August 4, 1886. 
By will he bequeathed several millions of 
dollars toward the founding of public libra- 
ries in New York City, Yonkers, etc. 



NOAH WEBSTER.— As a scholar, law- 
yer, author and journalist, there is no 
one who stands on a higher plane, or whose 
reputation is better established than the 
honored gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. He was a native of West Hartford, 
Connecticut, and was born October 17, 
1758. He came of an old New England 
family, his mother being a descendant of 
Governor William Bradford, of the Ply- 
mouth colony. After acquiring a solid edu- 
cation in early life Dr. Webster entered 
Yale College, from which he graduated in 



1778. For a while he taught school in 
Hartford, at the same time studying law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1781. He 
taught a classical school at Goshen, Orange 
county. New York, in 1782-83, and while 
there prepared his spelling book, grammar 
and reader, which was issued under the title 
of "A Grammatical Institute of the English 
Language," in three parts, — so successful a 
work that up to 1876 something like forty 
million of the spelling books had been 
sold. In 1786 he delivered a course of lec- 
tures on the English language in the seaboard 
cities and the following year taught an 
academy at Philadelphia. From December 
17. 1787. until November, 1788, he edited 
the "American Magazine, "a periodical that 
proved unsuccessful. In 1789-93 he prac- 
ticed law in Hartford having in the former 
year married the daughter of William Green- 
leaf, of Boston. He returned to New York 
and November, 1793, founded a daily paper, 
the "Minerva," to which was soon added a 
semi-weekly edition under the name of the 
" Herald. " The former is still in existence 
under the name of the " Commercial Adver- 
tiser . " In this paper, over the signature of 
' ' Curtius , " he published a lengthy and schol- 
arly defense of "John Jay's treaty." 

In 1798, Dr. Webster moved to New 
Haven and in 1807 commenced the prepar- 
ation of his great work, the "American Dic- 
tionary of the English Language," which 
was not completed and published until 1828. 
He made his home in Amherst, Massachu- 
setts, for the ten years succeeding 18 12, and 
was instrumental in the establishment of 
Amherst College, of which institution he was 
the first president of the board of trustees. 
During 1824-5 he resided in Europe, pursu- 
ing his philological studies in Paris. He 
completed his dictionary from the libraries 
of Cambridge University in 1S25, and de- 



50 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



voted his leisure for the remainder of his 
life to the revision of that and his school 
books. 

Dr. Webster was a member of the legis- 
latures of both Connecticut and ^fassachu- 
setts, was judge of one of the courts of the 
former state and was identified with nearly 
all the literarj' and scientific societies in the 
neighborhood of Amherst College. He died 
in New Haven, May 28, 1843. 

Among the more prominent works ema- 
nating from the fecund pen of Dr. Noah 
Webster besides those mentioned above are 
the following: "Sketches of American 
Policy," " Winthrop's Journal," " A Brief 
History of Epidemics," "Rights of Neutral 
Nations in time of \\'ar," "A Philosophical 
and Practical Grammar of the English Lan- 
guage," "Dissertations on the English 
Language , " "A Collection of Essays , " 
"The Revolution in France," "Political 
Progress of Britain," "Origin, History, and 
Connection of the Languages of Western 
Asia and of Europe ," and many others. 



w 



ILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, the 
great anti-slavery pioneer and leader, 
was born in Newburj'port, Massachusetts, 
December 12, 1804. He was apprenticed 
to the printing business, and in 1S28 was in- 
duced to take charge of the "Journal of the 
Times" at Bennington, Vermont. While 
supportmg John Ouincy Adams for the presi- 
dency he took occasion in that paper to give 
expression of his views on slavery. These 
articles attracted notice, and a Quaker 
named Lundy, editor of the "Genius of 
Emancipation," published in Baltimore, in- 
duced him to enter a partnership with him 
for the conduct of his paper. It soon 
transpired that the views of the partners 
were not in harmonj-, Lundy favoring grad- 
ual emancipation, while Garrison favored 



immediate freedom. In 1850 Mr. Garrison 
was thrown into prison for libel, not being 
able to pay a fine of fifty dollars and costs. 
In his cell he wrote a number of poems 
which stirred the entire north, and a mer- 
chant, Mr. Tappan, of New York, paid his 
fine and liberated him, after seven weeks of 
confinement. He at once began a lecture 
tour of the northern cities, denouncing 
slaver\' as a sin before God, and demanding 
its immediate abolition in the name of re- 
ligion and humanity. He opposed the col- 
onization scheme of President Monroe and 
other leaders, and declared the right of 
every slave to immediate freedom. 

In 1 83 1 he formed a partnership with 
Isaac Knapp, and began the publication of 
the "Liberator" at Boston. The " imme- 
diate abolition " idea began to gather power 
in the north, while the south became 
alarmed at the bold utterance of this jour- 
nal. The mayor of Boston was besought 
by southern influence to interfere, and upon 
investigation, reported upon the insignifi- 
cance, obscurity, and poverty of tha editor 
and his staff, which report was widely 
published throughout the country. Re- 
wards were offered by the southern states 
for his arrest and conviction. Later Garri- 
son brought from England, where an eman- 
cipation measure had just been passed, 
some of the great advocates to work for the 
cause in this country. In 1835 a mob 
broke into his office, broke up a meeting of 
women, dragged Garrison through the street 
with a rope around his body, and his liie 
was saved only by the interference of the 
police, who lodged him in jail. Garrison 
declined to sit in the World's Anti-Slaverv 
convention at London in 1840, because 
that body had refused women represenia- 
tion. He opposed the formation of a prj- 
litical party with emancipation as its basis. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



51 



He favored a dissolution of the union, and 
declared the constitution which bound the 
free states to the slave states " A covenant 
with death and an agreement with hell." 
In 1843 he became president of the Amer- 
ican Anti-Slavery society, which position he 
held until 1865, when slavery was no more. 
During all this time the •' Liberator" had 
continued to promulgate anti-slavery doc- 
trines, but in 1865 Garrison resigned his 
position, and declared his work was com- 
pleted. He died May 24, 1879. 



JOHN BROWN ("Brown of Ossawato- 
mie"), a noted character in American 
history, wasbornatTorrington, Connecticut, 
May 9, 1800. In his childhood he removed 
to Ohio, where he learned the tanner's 
trade. He married there, and in 1855 set- 
tled in Kansas. He lived at the village of 
Ossawatomie in that state, and there began 
his fight against slavery. He advocated im- 
mediate emancipation, and held that the 
negroes of the slave states merely waited 
for a leader in an insurrection that would re- 
sult in their freedom. He attended the 
convention called at Chatham, Canada, in 
1859, and was the leading spirit in organiz- 
ing a raid upon the United States arsenal at 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. His plans were 
well laid, and carried out in great secrecy. 
He ren*^ed a farm house near Harper's Ferry 
in the summer of 1859, and on October 
i6th of that year, with about twenty follow- 
ers, he surprised and captured the United 
States arsenal, with all its supplies and 
arms. To his surprise, the negroes did not 
come to his support, and the next day he 
was attacked by the Virginia state militia, 
wounded and captured. He was tried in 
the courts of the state, convicted, and was 
hanged at Charlestown, December 2, 1859. 
The raid and its results had a tremendous 



effect, and hastened the culmination of the 
troubles between the north and south. The 
south had the advantage in discussing this 
event, claiming that the sentiment which 
inspired this act of violence was shared by 
the anti-slavery element of the country. 



EDWIN BOOTH had no peer upon the 
American stage during his long career 
as a star actor. He was the son of a famous 
actor, Junius Brutus Booth, and was born 
in 1833 at his father's home at Belair, near 
Baltimore. At the age of sixteen he made his 
first appearance on the stage, at the Boston 
Museum, in a minor part in " Richard III." 
It was while playing in California in 185 1 
that an eminent critic called general atten- 
tion to the young actor's unusual talent. 
However, it was not until 1863, at the great 
Shakspearian revival at the Winter Garden 
Theatre, New York, that the brilliancy Oi 
his career began. His Hamlet held the 
boards for 100 nights in succession, and 
from that time forth Booth's reputation was 
established. In 1868 he opened his own 
theatre (Booth's Theater) in New York. 
Mr. Booth never succeeded as a manager, 
however, but as an actor he was undoubted- 
ly the most popular man on the American 
stage, and perhaps the most eminent one in 
the world. In England he also won the 
greatest applause. 

Mr. Booth's work was confined mostly 
to Shakspearean roles, and his art was 
characterized by intellectual acuteness, 
fervor, and poetic feeling. His Hamlet, 
Richard II, Richard III, and Richelieu gave 
play to his greatest powers. In 1865, 
when his brother, John Wilkes Booth, 
enacted his great crime, Edwin Booth re- 
solved to retire from the stage, but waspur- 
suaded to reconsider that decision. The 
odium did not in any way attach to the 



52 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPNl'. 



great actor, and his popularity was not 
affected. In all his work Mr. Booth clung 
closely to the legitimate and the traditional 
in drama, making no experiments, and offer- 
ing little encouragement to new dramatic 
authors. His death occurred in New York, 
June 7, 1894. 



JOSEPH HOOKER, a noted American 
officer, was born at Hadley, Massachu- 
setts. November 13, 1814. He graduated 
from West Point Military Academy in 1837, 
and was appointed lieutenant of artillery. 
He served in Florida in the Seminole war, 
and in garrison until the outbreak of the 
Mexican war. During the latter he saw 
service as a staff officer and was breveted 
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel for 
gallantry at Montere}', National Bridge and 
Chapultepec. Resigning his commission in 
1833 he took up farming in California, which 
he followed until 1861. During this time 
he acted as superintendent of military roads 
in Oregon. At the outbreak of the Rebel- 
lion Hooker tendered his services to the 
government, and. May 17, 1861, was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He 
served in the defence of Washington and on 
the lower Potomac until his appointment to 
the command of a division in the Third 
Corps, in March, 1862. For gallant con- 
duct at the siege of Yorktown and in the 
battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Fra- 
zier's Farm and Malvern Hill he was made 
major-general. At the head of his division 
he participated in the battles of Manassas 
and Chantilly. September 6. 1862, he was 
placed at the head of the First Corps, and 
in the battles of South Mountam and An- 
tietam acted with his usual gallantry, being 
wounded m the latter engagement. On re- 
joining the army in November he was made 
brigadier-general in the regular army. On 



General Burnside attaining the command of 
the Army of the Potomac General Hooker 
was placed in command of the center grand 
division, consisting of the Second and Fifth 
Corps. At the head of these gallant men 
he participated in the battle of Fred- 
ericksburg, December 13, 1862. In Janu- 
ary', 1863, General Hooker assumed com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and in 
May following fought the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. At the time of the invasion of 
Penns\lvania, owing to a dispute with Gen- 
eral Halleck, Hooker requested to be re- 
lieved of his command, and June 28 was 
succeeded hy George G. Meade. In Sep- 
tember, 1863, General Hooker was given 
command of the Twentieth Corps and trans- 
ferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and 
distinguished himself at the battles of Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ring- 
gold. In the Atlanta campaign he saw 
almost daily service and merited his well- 
known nickname of "Fighting Joe." July 
30, 1S64, at his own request, he was re- 
lieved of his command. He subsequently 
was in command of several military depart- 
ments in the north, and in October, 1868, 
was retired with the full rank of major-gen- 
eral. He died October 31, 1879. 



JAY GOULD, one of the greatest finan- 
ciers that the world has ever produced, 
was born May 27, 1S36, at Roxbury, Dela- 
ware county. New York. He spent his early 
years on his father's farm and at the age of 
fourteen entered Hobart Academy. New 
Y''ork, and kept books for the village black- 
smith. He acquired a taste for mathematics 
and surveying and on leaving school found 
employment in making the surveyor's map 
of Ulster county. He surveyed \exy exten- 
sively in the state and accumulated five thou- 
sand dollars as the fruits of his labor. He 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



5S 



was then stricken with typhoid fever but re- 
covered and m-iae the acquaintance of one 
iiadock Pratt, who sent him into the west- 
ern part of the state to locate a site for a 
tannery. He chose a fine hemlock grove, 
biiiit a sawmill and blacksmith shop and 
was soon doing a large lumber business with 
Mr. Pratt. Mr. Gould soon secured control 
of the entire plant, which he sold out just 
before the panic of 1857 and in this year he 
became the largest stockholderin the Strouds- 
burg, Pennsylvania, bank. Shortly after the 
crisis he bought the bonds of the Rutland 
& Washington Railroad at ten cents on the 
dollar, and put all his money into railroad 
securities. For a long time he conducted 
this road which he consolidated with the 
Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad. In 1S59 
he removed to New York and became a 
heavy investor in Erie Railroad stocks, en- 
tered that company and was president until 
its reorganization in 1872. In December, 
1880, Mr. Gould was in control of ten thou- 
sand miles of railroad. In 1S87 he pur- 
chased the controlling interest in the St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railroad Co., and 
was a joint owner with the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe Railroad Co. of the western 
portion of the Southern Pacific line. Other 
lines soon came under his control, aggregat- 
ing thousand of miles, and he soon was rec- 
ognized as one of the world's greatest rail- 
road magnates. He continued to hold his 
place as one of the master financiers of the 
century until the time of his death which 
occurred December 2, 1892. 



THOMAS HART BENTON, a very 
prominent United States senator and 
statesman, was born at Hillsborough, North 
Carolina, March 14, 1782. He removed to 
Tennessee in early life, studied law, and be- 
gan to practice at Nashville about 18 10. 



During the war of 1812-1815 he served as 
colonel of a Tennessee regiment under Gen- 
eral Andrew Jackson. In 1815 he removed 
to St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1820 was 
chosen United States senator for that state. 
Having been re-elected in 1826, he sup- 
ported President Jackson in his opposition 
to the United States bank and advocated a 
gold and silver currency, thus gaining the 
name of " Old Bullion," by which he was 
familiarly known. For m.any years he was 
the most prominent man in Missouri, and 
took rank among the greatest statesmen of 
his day. He was a member of the senate 
for thirty years and opposed the extreme 
states' rights policy of John C. Calhoun. 
In 1852 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in which he opposed the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise. He was op- 
posed by a powerful party of States' Rights 
Democrats in Missouri, who defeated him as a 
candidate for governor of that state in 1856. 
Colonel Benton published a considerable 
work in two volumes in 1854-56, entitled 
" Thirty Years' View, or a History of the 
Working of the American Government for 
Thirty Years, 1820-50." He died April 10, 
1858. 

STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.— One 
of the most prominent figures in politic- 
al circles during the intensely e.xciting days 
that preceded the war, and a leader of the 
Union branch of the Democratic party was 
the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. 

He was born at Brandon, Rutland coun- 
ty, Vermont, April 23, 1813, of poor but 
respectable parentage. His father, a prac- 
ticing physician, died while our subject was 
but an infant, and his mother, with two 
small children and but small means, could 
give him but the rudiments of an education. 



•54 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH2' 



At the age of fifteen young Douglas engaged 
at work in the cabinet making business to 
raise funds to carry him througti college. 
After a lew years of labor he was enabled to 
pursue an academical course, first at Bran- 
don, and later at Canandaigua, New York. 
In the latter place he remained until 1833, 
taking up the study of law. Before he was 
twenty, however, his lunas running low, he 
abandoned all further attempts at educa- 
tion, determining to enter at once the battle 
of life. After some wanderings inrough the 
western states he tooK up his residence at 
Jacksonville, Illinois, where, after teaching 
school for three months, he was admitted to 
the bar, and opened an office in 1834. 
Within a year from that time, so rapidly had 
he risen in his profession, he was chosen 
attorney general of the state, and warmly 
espoused the principles of the Democratic 
party. He soon became one of the most 
/popular orators in Illinois. It was at this 
time he gained the name of the "Little 
■Giant." In 1835 he resigned the position 
of attorney general having been elected to 
ihe legislature. In 1841 he was chosen 
judge of the supreme court of Illinois which 
he resigned two years later to take a seat in 
congress. It was during this period of his 
life, while a member of the lower house, 
that he established his reputation and took 
the side of those who contended that con- 
gress had no constitutional right to restrict 
the extension of slavery further than the 
agreement between the states made in 1820. 
This, in spite of his being opposed to slav- 
ery, and only on grounds which he believed 
to be right, favored what was called the 
Missouri compromise. In 1847 Mr. Doug- 
las was chosen United States senator for 
six years, and greatly distinguished himself. 
In 1852 he was re-elected to the same office. 
During this latter term, under his leader- 



ship, the " Kansas-Nebraska bill " was car- 
ried in the senate. In 1858, nothwith- 
standing the fierce contest made by his able 
competitor for the position, Abraham Lin- 
coln, and with the administration of Bu- 
chanan arrayed against him, Mr. Douglas 
was re-elected senator. After the trouble 
in the Charleston convention, when by the 
withdrawal of several state delegates with- 
out a nomination, the Union Democrats, 
in convention at Baltimore, in i860, nomi- 
nated Mr. Douglas as their candidate for 
presidency. The results of this election are 
well known and the great events of 1861 
coming on, Mr. Douglas was spared their 
full development, dying at Chicago, Illinois. 
June 3, 1 861, after a short illness. His 
last words to his children were, ' ' to obey 
the laws and support the constitution of the 
United States." 



JAMES MONROE, fifth president of the 
United States, was born in Westmore- 
land county, Virginia, April 28, 1758. At 
the age of sixteen he entered William and 
Mary College, but two years later the 
Declaration of Independence having been 
adopted, he left college and hastened to New 
York where he joined Washington's army as 
a military cadet. 

At the battle of Trenton Monroe per- 
formed gallant service and received a wound 
in the shoulder, and was promoted to a 
captaincy. He acted as aide to Lord Ster- 
ling at the battles of Brandywine, German-- 
town and Monmouth. Washington then 
sent him to Virginia to raise a new regiment 
of which he was to be colonel. The ex 
hausted condition of Virginia made this im 
possible, but he received his commission 
He next entered the law office of Thonia 
Jefferson to study law, as there was no open 
I ing for him as an officer in the army. In 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPNT. 



55 



1782 he was elected to the Virginia assem- 
bly, and the next year he was elected to the 
Continental congress. Realizing the inade- 
quacy of the old articles of confederation, 
he advocated the calling of a convention to 
consider their revision, and introduced in 
•congress a resolution empowering congress 
to regulate trade, lay import duties, etc. 
This resolution was referred to a committee, 
of which he was chairman, and the report 
led to the Annapolis convention, which 
called a general convention to meet at Phila- 
delphia in 1787, when the constitution was 
drafted. Mr. Monroe began the practice of 
law at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was 
soon after elected to the legislature, and ap- 
pointed as one of the committee to pass 
upon the adoption of the constitution. He 
opposed it, as giving too much power to the 
central government. He was elected to the 
United States senate in 1789, where he 
allied himself with the Anti-Federalists or 
"Republicans," as they were sometimes 
called. Although his views as to neutrality 
between France and England were directly 
opposed to those of the president, yet Wash- 
ington appointed him minister to France. 
His popularity in France was so great that 
the antagonism of England and her friends 
in this country brought about his recall. He 
then became governor of Virginia. He was 
sent as envoy to France in 1802; minister 
to England in 1803; and envoy to Spam in 
1805. The next year he returned to his 
estate in Virginia, and with an ample in- 
heritance enjoyed a few years of repose. He 
was again called to be governor of Virginia, 
and was then appointed secretary of state 
by President Madison. The war with Eng- 
land soon resulted, and when the capital 
was burned by the British, Mr. Monroe be- 
came secretary of war also, and planned the 
measures for the defense of New Orleans. 



The treasury being exhausted and credit 
gone, he pledged his own estate, and thereby 
made possible the victory of Jackson at New 
Orleans. 

In 1 8 17 Mr. Monroe became president 
of the United States, having been a candi- 
date of the "Republican" party, which at 
that time had begun to be called the ' ' Demo- 
cratic " party. In 1820 he was re-elected, 
having two hundred and thirty-one electoral 
votes out of two hundred and thirty-two. 
His administration is known as the "Era of 
good-feeling, " and party lines were almost 
wiped out. The slavery question began to 
assume importance at this time, and the 
Missouri Compromise was passed. The 
famous ' ' Monroe Doctrine " originated in a 
great state paper of President Monroe upon 
the rumored interference of the Holy Alli- 
ance to prevent the formation of free repub- 
lics in South America. President Monroe 
acknowledged their independence, and pro- 
mulgated his great "Doctrine," which has 
been held in reverence since. Mr. Monroe's 
death occurred in New York on July 4, 1831. 



THOMAS ALVA EDISON, the master 
wizard of electrical science and whose 
name is synonymous with the subjugation 
of electricity to the service of man, was 
born in 1847 at Milan, Ohio, and it was at 
Port Huron, Michigan, whither his parents 
had moved in 1854, that his self-education 
began — for he never attended school for 
more than two months. He eagerly de- 
voured every book he could lay his hands on 
and is said to have read through an encyclo- 
pedia without missing a word. At thirteen he 
began his working life as a trainboy upon the 
Grand Trunk Railway between Port Huron 
and Detroit. Much of his time was now 
spent in Detroit, where he found increased 
facilities for reading at the public libraries. 



56 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



lit; was not content to be a newsboy, so he 
Ci'C ciigetner three hundred pounds of type 
ana stirted the issue of the " Grand Trunk 
Herald." It was only a small amateur 
weekly, printed on one side, the impression 
being made from the type by hand. Chemi- 
cal research was his next undertaking and 
a laboratory was added to his movable pub- 
lishing house, which, by the way, was an 
old freight car. One day, however, as he 
was experimenting with some phosphorus, 
it ignited and the irate conductor threw the 
young seeker after the truth, chemicals and 
all, from the train. His olSce and laboratory 
were then removed to the cellar of his fa- 
ther's house. As he grew to manhood he 
decided to become an operator. He won 
his opportunity by saving the life of a child, 
vvhose father was an old operator, and out of 
gratitude he gave Mr. Edison lessons in teleg- 
raphy. Five months later he was compe- 
tent to fill a position in the railroad office 
at Port Huron. Hence he peregrinated to 
Stratford, Ontario, and thence successively 
to Adrian, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cin- 
cmnati, Memphis, Louisville and Boston, 
gradually becoming an expert operator and 
gaming experience that enabled him to 
evolve many ingenious ideas for the im- 
provement of telegraphic appliances. At 
Memphis he constructed an automatic re- 
peater, which enabled Louisville and New 
Orleans to communicate direct, and received 
nothing more than the thanks of his em- 
ployers. Mr. Edison came to New York in 
1870 in search of an opening more suitable 
to his capabilities and ambitions. He hap- 
pened to be in the office of the Laws Gold 
Reporting Company when one of the in- 
struments got out of order, and even the 
inventor of the system could not make it 
work. Edison requested to be allowed to 
attempt the task, and in a few minutes he 



had overcome the difficulty and secured an 
advantageous engagement. For several 
jears he had a contract with the Western 
Union and the Gold Stock companies, 
whereby he received a large salary, besides 
a special price for all telegraphic improve- 
ments he could suggest. Later, as the 
head of the Edison General Electric com- 
pany, with its numerous subordinate organ- 
izations and connections all over the civil- 
ized world, he became several times a 
millionaire. Mr. Edison invented the pho- 
nograph and kinetograph which bear his 
name, the carbon telephone, the tasimeter, 
and the duplex and quadruplex systems of 
telegraphy. 

JAMES LONGSTREET, one of the most 
conspicuous of the Confederate generals 
during the Civil war, was born in 1820, in 
South Carolina, but was early taken by his 
parents to Alabama where he grew to man- 
hood and received his early education. He 
graduated at the United States military 
academy in 1842, entering the army as 
lieutenant and spent a few years in the fron- 
tier service. When the Mexican war broke 
out he was called to the front and partici- 
pated in all the principal battles of that war 
up to the storming of Chapultepec, where 
he received severe wounds. For gallant 
conduct at Contreras, Cherubusco, and Mo- 
lino del Rey he received the brevets of cap- 
tain and major. After the close of the 
Mexican war Longstreet served as adjutant 
and captain on frontier service in Texas un- 
til 1S58 when he was transferred to the staff 
as paymaster with rank of major. In June, 
1 86 1, he resigned to join the Confederacy 
and immediately went to the front, com- 
manding a brigade at Bull Run the follow- 
ing month. Promoted to be major-general 
in 1862 he thereafter bore a conspicuous 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



o< 



part and rendered valuable service to the 
Confederate cause. He participated in 
many of tfie most severe battles of the Civil 
war including Bull Run (first and second), 
Seven Pines, Gaine&' Mill, Fraziers Farm, 
Malvern Hill, Antietam, Frederickburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, 
the Wilderness, Petersburg and most of the 
fighting about Richmond. 

When the war closed General Long- 
street accepted the result, renewed his alle- 
giance to the government, and thereafter 
labored earnestly to obliterate all traces of 
war and promote an era of good feeling be- 
tween all sections of the country. He took 
up his residence in New Orleans, and took 
an active interest and prominent part in 
public affairs, served as surveyor of that 
port for several years; was commissioner of 
engineers for Louisiana, served four years 
as school commissioner, etc. In 1S75 he 
was appointed supervisor of internal revenue 
and settled in Georgia. After that time he 
served four years as United States minister 
to Turkey, and also for a number of years 
was United States marshal of Georgia, be- 
sides having held other important official 
positions. 

JOHN RUTLEDGE, the second chief- 
justice of the United States, was born 
at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1739. 
He was a son of John Rutledge, who had 
left Ireland for America about five years 
prior to the birth of our subject, and a 
brother of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. John Rut- 
ledge received his legal education at the 
Temple, London, after which he returned 
to Charleston and soon won distinction at 
the bar. He was elected to the old Colonial 
congress in 1765 to protest against the 
" Stamp Act, " and was a member of the 



South Carolina convention of 1774, and of 
the Continental congress of that and the 
succeeding year. In 1776 he was chairman 
of the committee that draughted the con- 
stitution of his state, and was president of 
the congress of that state. He was not 
pleased with the state constitution, how- 
ever, and resigned. In 1779 he was again 
chosen governor of the state, and granted 
extraordinary powers, and he at once took 
the field to repel the British. He joined 
the army of General Gates in 1782, and the 
same year was elected to congress. He 
was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention which framed our present constitu- 
tion. In 1789 he was appointed an associate 
justice of the first supreme court of the 
United States. He resigned to accept the 
position of chief-justice of his own state. 
Upon the resignation of Judge Jay^ he was 
appointed chief-justice of the United States 
in 1795. The appointment was never con- 
firmed, for, after presiding at one session, 
his mind became deranged, and he was suc- 
ceeded by Judge Ellsworth. He died at 
Charleston, July 23, 1800. 



RALPH WALDO EMERSON was one 
of the most noted literary men of his 
time. He was born in Boston, Massachu- 
setts, May 25, 1803. He had a minister for 
an ancestor, either on the paternal or ma- 
ternal side, in every generation for eight 
generations back. His father. Rev. Will- 
iam Emerson, was a native of Concord, 
Massachusetts, born May 6, 1769, graduated 
at Harvard, in 17S9, became a Unitarian 
minister; was a fine writer and one of the 
best orators of his day; died in 181 1. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was fitted for 
college at the public schools of Boston, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1821, win- 
ning about this time several prizes for es- 



58 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



says. For five years he taught school in 
Boston; in 1826 was licensed to preach, and 
in 1829 was ordained as a colleague to Rev. 
Henry Ware of the Second Unitarian church 
in Boston. In 1S32 he resigned, making 
the announcement in a sermon of his un- 
evillingness longer to administer the rite of 
ihe Lord's Supper, after which he spent 
about a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he began his career as a lecturer before the 
Boston Mechanics Institute, his subject be- 
ing "Water." His early lectures on " Italy" 
and " Relation of Man to the Globe " also 
attracted considerable attention; as did also 
his biographical lectures on Michael Angelo, 
Milton, Luther, George Fox, and Edmund 
Burke. After that time he gave many 
courses of lectures in Boston and became 
one of the best known lecturers in America. 
But very few men have rendered such con- 
tinued service in this field. He lectured for 
forty successive seasons before the Salem, 
Massachusetts, Lyceum and also made re- 
peated lecturing tours in this country and in 
England. In 1S35 Mr. Emerson took up 
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts, 
where he continued to make his home until 
his death which occurred April 27, 1882. 

Mr. Emerson's literary work covered a 
wide scope. He wrote and published many 
works, essays and poems, which rank high 
among the works of American literary men. 
A few of the many which he produced are 
the following: "Nature;" "The Method 
of Nature;" "Man Thinking;" "The Dial;" 
"Essays;" "Poems;" "English Traits;" 
"The Conduct of Life;" "May-Day and 
other Poems " and " Society and Solitude;" 
besides many others. He was a prominent 
member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences, of the American Philosophical 
Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society 
and other kindred associations. 



ALEXANDER T. STEWART, one of 
the famous merchant princes of New 
York, was born near the city of Belfast, Ire- 
land, in 1803, and before he was eight years 
of age was left an orphan without any near 
relatives, save an aged grandfather. The 
grandfather being a pious Methodist wanted 
to make a minister of young Stewart, and 
accordingly put him in a school with that 
end in view and he graduated at Trinity Col- 
lege, in Dublin. When scarcely twenty 
years of age he came to New York. His 
first employment was that of a teacher, but 
accident soon made him a merchant. En- 
tering into business relations with an ex- 
perienced man of his acquaintance he soon 
found himself with the rent of a store on 
his hands and alone in a' new enterprise. 
Mr. Stewart's business grew rapidly in all 
directions, but its founder had executive 
ability sufficient for any and all emergencies, 
and in time his house became one of the 
greatest mercantile establishments of mod- 
ern times, and the name of Stewart famous. 
Mr. Stewart's death occurred April 10, 
1876. 

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. — In 
speaking of this noted American nov- 
elist, William Cullen Bryant said: " He 
wrote for mankind at large, hence it is that 
he has earned a fame wider than any Amer- 
ican author of modern times. The crea- 
tions of his genius shall survive through 
centuries to come, and only perish with our 
language." Another eminent writer (Pres- 
cott) said of Cooper: " In his productions 
every American must take an honest pride; 
for surely no one has succeeded like Cooper 
in the portraiture of American character, or 
has given such glowing and eminently truth- 
ful pictures of American scenery." 

James Fenimore Cooper was born Sep- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



59 



tember 15, 1789, at Burlington, New Jer- 
sey, and was a son of Judge William Cooper. 
About a year after the birth of our subject 
the family removed to Otsego county. New 
York, and founded the town called " Coop- 
erstown." James Fenimore Cooper spent 
his childhood there and in 1802 entered 
Yale College, and four years later became a 
midshipman in the United States navy. In 
181 1 he was married, quit the seafaring life, 
and began devoting more or less time to lit- 
erary pursuits. His first work was "Pre- 
caution," a novel published in 1819, and 
three years later he produced "The Spy, a 
Tale of Neutral Ground," which met with 
great favor and was a universal success. 
This was followed by many other works, 
among which may be mentioned the follow- 
ing: ' ' The Pioneers, " ' ' The Pilot, " ' ' Last 
of the Mohicans," "The Prairie," "The 
Red Rover," "The Manikins," "Home- 
ward Bound," "Home as Found," " History 
of the United States Navy," "The Path- 
finder," "Wing and Wing," "Afloat and 
Ashore," "The Chain-Bearer," "Oak- 
Openings," etc. J. Fenimore Cooper died 
at Cooperstown, New York, September 14, 
1851. 



M' 



ARSHALL FIELD, one of the mer- 
chant princes of America, ranks among 
the most successful business men of the cen- 
tury. He was born in 1835 at Conway, 
Massachusetts. He spent his early life on 
a farm and secured a fair education in the 
common schools, supplementing this with a 
course at the Conway Academ}^ His 
natural bent ran in the channels of commer- 
cial life, and at the age of seventeen he was 
given a position in a store at Pittsfie'.d, 
Massachusetts. Mr. Field remained there 
four years and removed to Chicago in 1856. 
He began his career in Chicago as a clerk 



in the wholesale dry goods house of Cooley, 
Wadsworth & Company, which later be- 
came Cooley, Farwell & Company, and still 
later John V. Farwell & Company. He 
remained with them four years and exhibit- 
ed marked ability, in recognition of which 
he was given a partnership. In 1865 Mr. 
Field and L. Z. Leiter, who was also a 
member of the firm, withdrew and formed 
the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter, the 
third partner being Potter Palmer, and they 
continued in business until 1S67, when Mr. 
Palmer retired and the firm became Field, 
Leiter & Company. They ran under the 
latter 'name until 1881, when Mr. Leiter re- 
tired and the house has since continued un- 
der the name of Marshall Field & Company. 
The phenomenal success accredited to the 
house is largely due to the marked ability 
of Mr. Field, the house had become one of 
the foremost in the west, with an annual 
sale of $8,000,000 in 1870. The total loss 
of the firm during the Chicago fire was 
$3,500,000 of which $2,500,000 was re- 
covered through the insurance companies. 
It rapidly recovered from the effects of this 
and to-day the annual sales amount to over 
$40,000,000. Mr. Field's real estate hold- 
ings amounted to $10,000,000. He was 
one of the heaviest subscribers to the Bap- 
tist University fund although he is a Presby- 
terian, and gave $1,000,000 for the endow- 
ment of the Field Columbian Museum — 
one of the greatest institutions of the kind 
in the world. 

EDGAR WILSON NYE, who won an im- 
mense popularity under the pen name 
of " Bill Nye," was one of the most eccen- 
tric humorists of his day. He was born Au- 
gust 25, 1850, at Shirley, Piscataqua coun- 
ty, Maine, "at a very early age " as he ex- 
presses it. He took an academic course in. 



60 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



River Falls, Wisconsin, from whence, after 
his graduation, he removed to Wyoming 
Territory. He studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1876. He began when 
quite young tocontribute humorous sketches 
to the newspapers, became connected with 
various western journals and achieved a 
brilliant success as a humorist. Mr. Nye 
settled later in New York City where he 
devoted his time to writing funny articles for 
the big newspaper syndicates. He wrote for 
publication in book form the following : 
"Bill Nye and the Boomerang," "The 
Forty Liars," "Baled Hay," "Bill Nye's 
Blossom Rock," "Remarks," etc. His 
death occurred February 21, 1S96, at Ashe- 
ville, North Carolina. 



THOMAS DE WITT TALMAGE, one of 
the most celebrated American preach- 
ers, was born January 7, 1832, and was the 
youngest of twelve children. He made his 
preliminary studies at the grammar school 
in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At the age 
of eighteen he joined the church and entered 
the University of the City of New York, and 
graduated in May, 1853. The exercises 
were held in Niblo's Garden and his speech 
aroused the audience to a high pitch of en- 
thusiasm. At the close of his college duties 
he imagined himself interested in the law 
and for three years studied law. Dr. Tal- 
mage then perceived his mistake and pre- 
pared himself for the ministry at the 
Reformed Dutch Church Theological Semi- 
nary at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just 
after his ordination the young minister re- 
ceived two calls, one from Piermont, New 
York, and the other from Belleville, New 
Jersey. Dr. Talmage accepted the latter 
and for three years filled that charge, when 
he was called to Syracuse, New York. Here 
it was that his sermons first drew large 



crowds of people to his church, and froni 
thence dates his popularity. Afterward he 
became the pastor of the Second Reformed 
Dutch church, of Philadelphia, remaining 
seven years, during which period he first 
entered upon the lecture platform and laid 
the foundation for his future reputation. At 
the end of this time he received three calls, 
one from Chicago, one from San Francisco, 
and one from the Central Presbyterian 
church of Brooklyn, which latter at that 
time consisted of only nineteen members 
with a congregation of about thirty-five. 
This church offered him a salary of seven 
thousand dollars and he accepted the call. 
He soon induced the trustees to sell the old 
church and build a new one. They did so 
and erected the Brooklyn Tabernacle, but 
it burned down shortly after it was finished. 
By prompt sympathy and general liberality 
a new church was built and formally opened 
in February, 1874. It contained seats for 
four thousand, si.x hundred and fifty, but if 
necessary seven thousand could be accom- 
modated. In October, 1878, his salary was 
raised from seven thousand dollars to twelve 
thousand dollars, and in the autumn of 1889 
the second tabernacle was destroyed by fire. 
A third tabernacle was built and it was for- 
mally dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1891. 



JOHN PHILIP SOUSA, conceded as 
being one of the greatest band leaders 
in the world, won his fame while leader of 
the United States Marine Band at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia. He was not 
originally a band player but was a violinist, 
and at the age of seventeen he was conduc- 
tor of an opera company, a profession which 
he followed for several years, until he was 
offered the leadership of the Marine Band 
at Washington. The proposition was re- 
pugnant to him at first but he accepted the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



61 



offer and then ensued ten years of brilliant 
success with that organization. When he 
first took the Marine Band he began to 
gather the national airs of all the nations 
that have representatives in Washington, 
and compiled a comprehensive volume in- 
cluding nearly all the national songs of the 
different nations. He composed a number 
of marches, waltzes and two-steps, promi- 
nent among which are the "Washington 
Post," "Directorate," "King Cotton," 
"High School Cadets," "Belle of Chica- 
go," "Liberty Bell March," "Manhattan 
Beach," "On Parade March," "Thunderer 
March," "Gladiator March," " El Capitan 
March," etc. He became a very extensive 
composer of this class of music. 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, sixth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Braintree, Massachusetts, July ii, 1767, 
the son of John Adams. At the age of 
eleven he was sent to school at Paris, and 
two years later to Leyden, where he entered 
that great university. He returned to the 
United States in 17S5, and graduated from 
Harvard in 1788. He then studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1791. His 
practice brought no income the first two 
years, but he won distinction in literary 
fields, and was appointed minister to The 
Hague in 1794. He married in 1797, and 
went as minister to Berlin the same year, 
serving until 1801, when Jefferson became 
president. He was elected to the senate in 
1803 by the Federalists, but was condemned 
by that party for advocating the Embargo 
Act and other Anti-Federalist measures. He 
was appointed as professor of rhetoric at 
Harvard in 1805, and in 1809 was sent as 
minister to Russia. He assisted in negotiat- 
ing the treaty of peace with England in 
1814, and became minister to that power 



the next year. He served during Monroe's 
administration two terms as secretary of 
state, during which time party lines were 
obliterated, and in 1824 four candidates for 
president appeared, all of whom were iden- 
tified to some extent with the new " Demo- 
cratic" party. Mr. Adams received 84 elec- 
toral votes, Jackson 99, Crawford 41, and 
Clay 37. As no candidate had a majority 
of all votes, the election went to the house 
of representatives, which elected Mr. Adams. 
As Clay had thrown his influence to Mr. 
Adams, Clay became secretary of state, and 
this caused bitter feeling on the part of the 
Jackson Democrats, who were joined by 
Mr. Crawford and his following, and op- 
posed every measure of the administration. 
In the election of 1828 Jackson was elected 
over Mr. Adams by a great majority. 

Mr. Adams entered the lower house of 
congress in 1830, elected from the district 
in which he was born and continued to rep- 
resent it for seventeen years. He was 
known as " the old man eloquent," and his 
work in congress was independent of party. 
He opposed slavery extension and insisted 
upon presenting to congress, one at a time, 
the hundreds of petitions against the slave 
power. One of these petitions, presented in 
1842, was signed by forty-five citizens of 
Massachusetts, and prayed congress for a 
peaceful dissolution of the Union. His 
enemies seized upon this as an opportunity 
to crush their powerful foe, and in a caucus 
meeting determined upon his expulsion from 
congress. Finding they would not be able 
to command enough votes for this, they de- 
cided upon a course that would bring equal 
disgrace. They formulated a resolution to 
the effect that while he merited expulsion, 
the house would, in great mercy, substitute 
its severest censure. When it was read in the 
house the old man, then in his seventy-fifth 



62 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHl'. 



year, arose and demanded that the first para- 
graph of the Declaration of Independence 
be read as his defense. It embraced the 
famous sentence, "that whenever any form 
of government becomes destructive to those 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or 
abolish it, and to institute new government, 
etc., etc." After eleven days of hard fight- 
ing his opponents were defeated. On Febru- 
ary 21, 1S4S, he rose to address the speaker 
on the Oregon question, when he suddenly 
fell from a stroke of paralysis. He died 
soon after in the rotunda of the capitol, 
where he had been conveyed b}- his col- 
leagues. 

SUSAN B. ANTHONY was one of the 
most famous women of America. She 
was born at South Adams, Massachusetts, 
Februarj- 15, 1S20, the daughter of a 
Quaker. She received a good education 
and became a school teacher, following that 
profession for fifteen years in New York. 
Beginning with about 1S52 she became the 
active leader of the woman's rights move- 
ment and won a wide reputation for her 
zeal and ability. She also distinguished 
herself for her zeal and eloquence in the 
temperance and anti-slavery causes, and 
became a conspicuous figure during the war. 
After the close ot the war she gave most of 
her labors to the cause of woman's suffrage. 



PHILIP D. ARMOUR, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the mercantile 
history of America, was born May 16, 1S32, 
on a fartn at Stockbridge. Madison county. 
New York, and received his earlj- education 
in the common schools of that county. He 
was apprenticed to a farmer and worked 
faithfully and well, being verj' ambitious and 
desiring to start out for himself. At the 
age of twenty he secured a release from his 



indentures and set out overland for the 
gold fields of California. After a great 
deal of hard work he accumulated a little 
money and then came east and settled 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went into 
the grain receiving and warehouse busi- 
ness and was fairly successful, and later on 
he formed a partnership with John Plankin- 
ton in the pork packing line, the style of the 
firm being Plankinton & Armour. Mr. Ar- 
mour made his first great ' ' deal " in selling 
pork "short " on the New Y'ork market in 
the anticipation of the fall of the Confed- 
eracy, and Mr. Armour is said to have made 
through this deal a million dollars. He then 
established packing houses in Chicago and 
Kansas City, and in 1875 he removed to 
Chicago. He increased his business by add- 
ing to it the shipment of dressed beef to 
the European markets, and many other lines 
of trade and manufacturing, and it rapidly 
assumed vast proportions, employing an 
army of men in different lines of the busi- 
ness. Mr. Armour successfully conducted a 
great many speculative deals in pork and 
grain of immense proportions and also erected 
many large warehouses for the storage of 
grain. He became one of the representative 
business men of Chicago, where he became 
closely identified with all enterprises of a 
public nature, but his fame as a great busi- 
ness man extended to all parts of the world. 
He founded the "Armour Institute " at Chi- 
cago and also contributed largely to benevo- 
lent and charitable institutions. 



ROBERT FULTON.— Although Fulton 
is best known as the inventor of the 
first successful steamboat, yet his claims ta 
distinction do not rest alone upon that, for 
he was an inventor along other lines, a 
painter and an author. He was born at 
Little Britain, Lancaster county, Pennsy! 



'\ 



COMPENDIUM Oi^ BIOGRAPHT. 



65- 



vania, in 1765, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
At the age of seventeen he removed to Phila- 
delphia, and there and in New York en- 
gaged in miniature painting with success 
both from a pecuniary and artistic point of 
view. With the results of his labors he pur- 
:;hased a farm for the support of his mother. 
He went to London and studied under the 
great painter, Benjamin West, and all 
through life retained his fondness for art 
and gave evidence of much ability in that 
line. While in England he was brought in 
contact with the Duke of Bridgewater, the 
father of the English canal system; Lord 
Stanhope, an eminent mechanician, and 
James Watt, the inventor of the steam en- 
gine. Their influence turned his mind to its 
true field of labor, that of mechanical in- 
vention. Machines for flax spinning, 
marble sawing, rope making, and for remov- 
ing earth from excavations, are among his 
earliest ventures. His "Treatise on the 
Improvement of Canal Navigation," issued 
in 1 796, and a series of essays on canals 
were soon followed by an English patent 
for canal improvements. In 1797 he went 
to Paris, where he resided until 1806, and 
there invented a submarine torpedo boat for 
maritime defense, but which was rejected 
by the governments of France, England and 
the United States. In 1 803 he offered to con- 
struct for the Emperor Napoleon a steam- 
boat that would assist in carrying out the 
plan of invading Great Britain then medi- 
tated by that great captain. In pursuance 
he constructed his first steamboat on the 
Seine, but it did not prove a full success 
and the idea was abandoned by the French 
government. By the aid of Livingston, 
then United States minister to France, 
Fulton purchased, in 1806, an engine which 
he brought to this country. After studying 

the defects of his own and other attempts in 
4 



this line he built and launched in 1807 the 
Clermont, the first successful steamboat. 
This craft only attained a speed of five 
miles an hour while going up North river. 
His first patent not fully covering his in- 
vention, Fulton was engaged in many law 
suits for infringement. He constructed 
many steamboats, ferryboats, etc., among 
these being the United States steamer 
" Fulton the First," built in 1814, the first 
war steamer ever built. This craft never 
attained any great speed owing to some de- 
fects in construction and accidentally blew 
up in 1829. Fulton died in New York, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1815. 



SALMON PORTLAND CHASE, sixth 
chief-justice of the United States, and 
one of the most eminent of American jurists, 
was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 13, 1808. At the age of nine he was 
left in poverty by the death of his father, 
but means were found to educate him. He 
was sent to his uncle, a bishop, who con- 
ducted an academy near Columbus, Ohio, 
and here young Chase worked on the farm 
and attended school. At the age of fifteen 
he returned to his native state and entered 
Dartmouth College, from which he gradu- 
ated in 1 826. He then went to Washington, 
and engaged in teaching school, and study- 
ing law under the instruction of William 
Wirt. He was licensed to practice in 1829, 
and went to Cincinnati, where he had a 
hard struggle for several years following. 
He had in the meantime prepared notes on 
the statutes of Ohio, which, when published, 
brought him into prominence locally. He 
was soon after appointed solicitor of the 
United States Bank. In 1837 he appeared 
as counsel for a fugitive slave woman, Ma- 
tilda, and sought by all the powers of his 
learning and eloquence to prevent her owner 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



from reclaiming her. He acted in many 
other cases, and devolved the trite expres- 
sion, "Slavery is sectional, freedom is na- 
tional." He was employed to defend Van 
Zandt before the supreme court of the United 
States in 1846, which was one of the most 
noted cases connected with the great strug- 
gle against slavery. By this time Mr. Chase 
had become the recognized leader of that 
element known as " free-soilers." He was 
elected to the United States senate in 1849, 
and was chosen governor of Ohio in 1855 
and re-elected in 1857. He was chosen to 
the United States senate from Ohio in 1861, 
but was made secretary of the treasury by 
Lincoln and accepted. He inaugurated a 
financial system to replenish the exhausted 
treasury and meet the demands of the great- 
est war in history and at the same time to 
revive the industries of the country. One 
of the measures which afterward called for 
his judicial attention was the issuance of 
currency notes which were made a legal 
tender in payment of debts. When this 
question came before him as chief-justice 
of the United States he reversed his former 
action and declared the measure unconstitu- 
tional. The national banking system, by 
which all notes issued were to be based on 
funded government bonds of equal or greater 
amounts, had its direct origin with Mr. Chase. 
Mr. Chase resigned the treasury port- 
folio in 1864, and was appointed the same 
year as chief-justice of the United States 
supreme court. The great questions that 
came up before him at this crisis in the life 
of the nation were no less than those which 
confronted the first chief-justice at the for- 
mation of our government. Reconstruction, 
private, state and national interests, the 
constitutionality of the acts of congress 
passed in times of great excitement, the 
construction and interpretation to ])e placed 



upon the several amendments to the national 
constitution, — these were among the vital 
questions requiring prompt decision. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1870, which 
impaired his health, though his mental 
powers were not affected. He continued to 
preside at the opening terms for two years 
following and died May 7, 1873. 



HARRIET ELIZABETH BEECHER 
STOWE, a celebrated American writ- 
er, was born June 14, 1812, at Litchfield, 
Connecticut. She was a daughter of Lyman 
Beecher and a sister of Henry Ward Beecher, 
two noted divines; was carefully educated, 
and taught school for several years at Hart- 
ford, Connecticut. In 1832 Miss Beecher 
married Professor Stowe, then of Lane Semi- 
nary, Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterwards at 
Bowdoin College and Andover Seminary. 
Mrs. Stowe published in 1849 "The May- 
flower, or sketches of the descendants of the 
Pilgrims," and in 1851 commenced in the 
"National Era "of Washington, a serial story 
which was published separately in 1852 under 
the title of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This 
book attained almost unparalleled success 
both at home and abroad, and within ten years 
it had been translated in almost every lan- 
guage of the civilized world. Mrs. Stowe pub- 
lished in 1853 a "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
in which the data that she used was published 
and its truthfulness was corroborated. In 
1853 she accompanied her husband and 
brother to Europe, and on her return pub- 
lished "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands" 
in 1854. Mrs. Stowe was for some time 
one of the editors of the ' ' Atlantic Monthly " 
and the " Hearth and Home," for which 
she had written a number of articles. 
Among these, also published separately, are 
" Dred, a tale of the Great Dismal Swamp " 
(later published under the title of "Nina 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



67 



Gordon"); "The Minister's Wooing;" "The 
Pearl of Orr's Island;" "Agnes of Sorrento;" 
' 'Oldtown Folks;" ' ' My Wife and I;" " Bible 
Heroines," and "A Dog's Mission." Mrs. 
Stowe's death occurred July i, 1896, at 
Hartford, Connecticut. 



THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON, bet- 
ter known as "Stonewall" Jackson, 
was one of the most noted of the Confeder- 
ate gene'^als of the Civil war. He was a 
soldier by nature, an incomparable lieuten- 
ant, sure to execute any operation entrusted 
to him with marvellous precision, judgment 
and courage, and all his individual cam- 
paigns and combats bore the stamp of a 
masterly capacity for war. He was born 
January 21, 1824, at Clarksburg, Harrison 
county, West Virginia. He was early in 
life imbued with the desire to be a soldier 
and it is said walked from the mountains of 
Virginia to Washington, secured the aid of 
his congressman, and was appointed cadet 
at the United States Military Academy at 
West Point from which he was graduated in 

1846. A.ttached to the army as brevet sec- 
ond lieutenant of the First Artillery, his first 
service was as a subaltern with Magruder's 
battery of light artillery in the Mexican war. 
He participated at the reduction of Vera 
Cruz, and was noticed for gallantry in the 
battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Moline 
del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capture of 
the city of Mexico, receiving the brevets of 
captain for conduct at Contreras and Cher- 
ubusco and of major at Chapultepec. In 
the meantime he had been advanced by 
regular promotion to be first lieutenant in 

1847. In 1852, the war having closed, he 
resigned and became professor of natural 
and experimental philosophy and artillery 
instructor at the Virginia State Military 
Institute at Lexington, Virginia, where he 



remained until Virginia declared for seces- 
sion, he becoming chiefly noted for intense 
religious sentiment coupled with personal 
eccentricities. Upon the breaking out of 
the war he was made colonel and placed in 
command of a force sent to sieze Harper's 
Ferry, which he accomplished May 3, 1861. 
Relieved by General J. E. Johnston, May 
23, he took command of the brigade of 
Valley Virginians, whom he moulded into 
that brave corps, baptized at the first 
Manassas, and ever after famous as the 
" Stonewall Brigade." After this "Stone- 
wall " Jackson was made a major-general, 
in 1861, and participated until his death in 
all the famous campaigns about Richmond 
and in Virginia, and was a conspicuous fig- 
ure in the memorable battles of that time. 
May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, he was 
wounded severely by his own troops, two 
balls shattering his left arm and another 
passing through the palm of his right hand. 
The left arm was amputated, but pneumonia 
intervened, and, weakened by the great loss 
of blood, he died May 10, 1863. The more 
his operations in the Shenandoah valley in 
1862 are studied the more striking must the 
merits of this great soldier appear. 



JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.— 
Near to the heart of the people of the 
Anglo-Saxon race will ever lie the verses of 
this, the "Quaker Poet." The author of 
"Barclay of Ury," "Maud Muller" and 
"Barbara Frietchie, " always pure, fervid 
and direct, will be remembered when many 
a more ambitious writer has been forgotten. 
John G. Whittier was born at Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, December 7, 1807. of 
Quaker parentage. He had but a common- 
school education and passed his boyhood 
days upon a farm. In early life he learned 
the trade of shoemaker. At the age of 



68 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



eighteen he began to write verses for the 
Haverhill '' Gazette." He spent two years 
after that at the Haverhill academy, after 
which, in 1829, he became editor of the 
"American Manufacturer," at Boston. In 
1830 he succeeded George D. Prentice as 
editor of the "New England Weekly Re- 
view," but the following year returned to 
Haverhill and engaged in farming. In 1832 
and in 1836 he edited the " Gazette." In 
1835 he was elected a member of the legis- 
lature, serving two years. In 1 836 he became 
secretary of the Anti-slavery Society of Phil- 
adelphia. In 1838 and 1839 he edited the 
" Pennsylvania Freeman," but in the latter 
year the office was sacked and burned by a 
mob. In 1 840 Whittier settled at Ames- 
bury, Massachusetts. In 1847 he became 
corresponding editor of the "National Era," 
an anti-slavery paper published at Washing- 
ton, and contributed to its columns many of 
his anti-slavery and other favorite lyrics. 
Mr. Whittier lived for many years in retire- 
ment of Quaker simplicity, publishing several 
volumes of poetry which have raised him to 
a high place among American authors and 
brought to him the love and admiration of 
his countrymen. In the electoral colleges 
of i860 and 1864 Whittier v/as a member. 
Much of his time after 1876 was spent at 
Oak Knoll, Danvers, Massachusetts, but 
still retained his residence at Amesbury. 
He never married. His death occurred Sep- 
tember 7, 1892. 

The more prominent prose writings of 
John G. Whittier are as follows: "Legends 
of New England," "Justice and Expediency, 
or Slavery Considered with a View to Its Abo- 
htion," " The Stranger in Lowell," "Super- 
naturalism in New England," " Leaves from 
Margaret Smith's Journal," "Old Portraits 
and Modern Sketches" and "Literary 
Sketches." 



DAVID DIXON PORTER, illustrious as 
admiral of the United States navy, and 
famous as one of the most able naval offi- 
cers of America, was born in Pennsylvania, 
June 8, 1 8 14. His father was also a naval 
officer of distinction, who left the service of 
the United States to become commander of 
the naval forces of Mexico during the war 
between that country and Spain, and 
through this fact David Dixon Porter was 
appointed a midshipman in the Mexican 
navy. Two years later David D. Porter 
joined the United States navy as midship- 
man, rose in rank and eighteen years later 
as a lieutenant he is found actively engaged 
in all the operations of our navy along the 
east coast of Mexico. When the Civil war 
broke out Porter, then a commander, was 
dispatched in the Powhattan to the relief of 
Fort Pickens, Florida. This duty accom- 
plished, he fitted out a mortar flotilla for 
the reduction of the forts guarding the ap- 
proaches to New Orleans, which it was con- 
sidered of vital importance for the govern- 
ment to get possession of. After the fall of 
New Orleans the mortar flotilla was actively 
engaged at Vicksburg, and in the fall of 
1862 Porter was made a rear-admiral and 
placed in command of all the naval forces 
on the western rivers above New Orleans. 
The ability of the man was now con- 
spicuously manifested, not only in the bat- 
tles in which he was engaged, but also in 
the creation of a formidable ileet out of 
river steamboats, which he covered with 
such plating as they would bear. In 1864 
he was transferred to the Atlantic coast to 
command the naval forces destined to oper- 
ate against the defences of Wilmington, 
North Carolina, and on Jan. 15, 1865, the 
fall of Fort Fisher was hailed by the country 
as a glorious termination of his arduous war 
service. In 1866 he was made vice-admiral 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



6i» 



and appointed superintendent of the Naval 
Academy. On the death of Farragut, in 
1S70, he succeeded that able man as ad- 
miral of the navy. His death occurred at 
Washington, February 13, 1891. 



NATHANIEL GREENE was one of the 
best known of the distinguished gen- 
erals who led the Continental soldiery 
against the hosts of Great Britain during 
the Revolutionary war. He was the son 
of Quaker parents, and was born at War- 
wick, Rhode Island, May 27, 1742. In 
youth he acquired a good education, chiefly 
by his own efforts, as he was a tireless 
reader. In 1770 he was elected a member 
of the Assembly of his native state. The 
news of the battle of Lexington stirred 
his blood, and he offered his services to 
the government of the colonies, receiving 
the rank of brigadier-general and the com- 
mand of the troops from Rhode Island. 
He led them to the camp at Cambridge, 
and for thus violating the tenets of their 
faith, he was cast out of the Society of 
Friends, or Quakers. He soon won the es- 
teem of General Washington. In August, 

1776, Congress promoted Greene to the 
rank of major-general, and in the battles of 
Trenton and Princeton he led a division. 
At the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 

1777, he greatly distinguished himself, pro- 
tecting the retreat of the Continentals by 
his firm stand. At the battle of German- 
town, October 4, the same year, he com- 
manded the left wing of the army with 
credit. In March, 1778, he reluctantly ac- 
cepted the office of quartermaster-general, 
but only with the understanding that his 
rank m the army would not be affected and 
that in action he should retain his command. 
On the bloody field of Monmouth, June 28, 

1778, he commanded the right wing, as he 



did at the battle of Tiverton Heights. He 
was in command of the army in 1780, dur- 
ing the absence of Washington, and was 
president of the court-martial that tried and 
condemned Major Andre. After General 
Gates' defeat at Camden, North Carolina, in 
the summer of 1780, General Greene was ap- 
pointed to the command of the southern army. 
He sent out a force under General Morgan 
who defeated General Tarleton at Cowpens, 
January 17, 1781. On joining his lieuten- 
ant, in February, he found himself out num- 
bered by the British and retreated in good 
order to Virginia, but being reinforced re- 
turned to North Carolina where he fought 
the battle of Guilford, and a few days later 
compelled the retreat of Lord Cornwallis. 
The British were followed by Greene part 
of the way, when the American army 
marched into South Carolina. After vary- 
ing success he fought the battle of Eutaw 
Springs, Septembers, 1781. For thelatter 
battle and its glorious consequences, which 
virtually closed the war in the Carolinas, 
Greene received a medal from Congress and 
many valuable grants of land from the 
colonies of North and South Carolina and 
Georgia. On the return of peace, after a 
year spent in Rhode Island, General Greene 
took up his residence on his estate near 
Savannah, Georgia, where he died June 19, 
1786. 

EDGAR ALLEN POE.— Among the 
many great literary men whom this 
country has produced, there is perhaps no 
name more widely known than that of Ed- 
gar Allen Poe. He was born at Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 19, 1809. His 
parents were David and Elizabeth (Arnold) 
Poe, both actors, the mother said to have 
been the natural daughter of Benedict Ar- 
nold. The parents died while Edgar was 



70 



COMPENDIUM OF B70GRAPH2\ 



still a child and he was adopted by John 
Allen, a wealthy and influential resident of 
Richmond, Virginia. Edgar was sent to 
school at Stoke, Newington, England, 
where he remained until he was thirteen 
years old; was prepared for college by pri- 
vate tutors, and in 1826 entered the Virginia 
University at Charlottesville. He made 
rapid progress in his studies, and was dis- 
tinguished for his scholarship, but was ex- 
pelled within a year for gambling, after 
which for several years he resided with his 
benefactor at Richmond. He then went to 
Baltimore, and in 1829 published a 71 -page 
pamphlet called "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane 
and Minor Poems," which, however, at- 
tracted no attention and contained nothing 
of particular merit. In 1830 he was ad- 
mitted as a cadet at West -Point, but was 
expelled about a year later for irregulari- 
ties. Returning to the home of Mr. Allen 
he remained for some time, and finally 
quarrelled with his benefactor and enlisted 
as a private soldier in the U. S. army, but 
remained only a short time. Soon after 
this, in 1833, Poe won several prizes for 
literary work, and as a result secured the 
position of editor of the ' ' Southern Liter- 
ary Messenger," at Richmond, Virginia. 
Here he married his cousin, Virginia 
Clemm, who clung to him with fond devo- 
tion through all the many trials that came 
to them until her death in January, 1848. 
Poe remained with the "Messenger" for 
Several years, writing meanwhile many 
tales, reviews, essays and poems. He aft- 
erward earned a precarious living by his 
pen in New York for a time; in 1839 be- 
came editor of "Burton's Gentleman's 
Magazine" ; in 1840 to 1842 was editor of 
" Graham's Magazine," and drifted around 
from one place to another, returning to 
New York in 1844. In 1845 his best 



known production, ' ' The Raven, " appeared 
in the "Whig Review," and gained him a 
reputation which is now almost world-wide. 
He then acted as editor and contributor on 
various magazines and periodicals until the 
death of his faithful wife in 1S48. In the 
summer of i S49 he was engaged to be mar- 
ried to a lady of fortune in Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, and the day set for the wedding. 
He started for New York to make prepara- 
tions for the event, but, it is said, began 
drinking, was attacked with dilirium tre- 
mens in Baltimore and was removed to a 
hospital, where he died, October 7, 1849. 
The works of Edgar Allen Poe have been 
repeatedl}' published since his death, both 
in Europe and America, and have attained 
an immense popularity. 



HORATIO GATES, one of the prom- 
inent figures in the American war for 
Independence, was not a native of the col- 
onies but was born in England in 1728. In 
early life he entered the British arm}' and 
attained the rank of major. At the capture 
of Martinico he was aide to General Monk- 
ton and after the peace of Aix la Chapelle, 
in 1748, he was among the first troops that 
landed at Halifax. He was with Braddock 
at his defeat in 1755, and was there severe- 
ly wounded. At the conclusion of the 
French and Indian war Gates purchased an 
estate in Virginia, and, resigning from the 
British army, settled down to life as a 
planter. On the breaking out of the Rev- 
olutionary war he entered the service of the 
colonies and was made adjutant-general of 
the Continental forces with the rank oi 
brigadier-general. He accompanied ^^'ash- 
ington when he assumed the command oi 
the army. In June, 1776, he was appoint- 
ed to the command of the army of Canada, 
but was superseded in May of the following 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



71 



year by General Schuyler. In August, 
1777, however, the command of that army 
was restored to General Gates and Septem- 
ber 19 he fought the battle of Bemis 
Heights. October 7, the same year, he 
won the battle of Stillwater, or Saratoga, 
and October 17 received the surrender of 
General Burgoyne and his army, the pivotal 
point of the war. This gave him a brilliant 
reputation. June 13, 1780, General Gates 
was appointed to the command of the 
southern military division, and August 16 of 
that year suffered defeat at the hands of 
Lord Cornwallis, at Camden, North Car- 
olina In December following he was 
superseded in the command by General 
Nathaniel Greene. 

On the signing of the peace treaty Gen- 
eral Gates retired to his plantation in 
Berkeley county, Virginia, where he lived 
until 1790, when, emancipating all his 
slaves, he removed to New York City, where 
he resided until his death, April 10, 1S06. 



LYMAN J. GAGE.— When President Mc- 
Kinley selected Lyman J. Gage as sec- 
retary of the treasury he chose one of the 
most eminent financiers of the century. Mr. 
Gage was born June 28, 1836. at De Ruy- 
ter, Madison county. New York, and was of 
English descent. He went to Rome, New 
York, with his parents when he was ten 
years old, and received his early education 
in the Rome Academy. Mr. Gage gradu- 
ated from the same, and his first position 
was that of a clerk in the post office. When 
lie was fifteen years of age he was detailed 
as mail agent on the Rome & Watertown 
R. R. until the postmaster-general appointed 
regular agents for the route. In 1854, when 
he was in his eighteenth year, he entered 
the Oneida Central Bank at Rome as a 
junior clerk at a salary of one hundred dol- 



lars per year. Being unable at the end of 
one year and a half's service to obtain an 
increase in salary he determined to seek a 
wider field of labor. Mr. Gage set out in 
the fall of 1855 and arrived in Chicago, 
Illinois, on October 3, and soon obtained a 
situation in Nathan Cobb's lumber yard and 
planing mill. Ke remained there three years 
as a bookkeeper, teamster, etc., and left on 
account of change in the management. But 
not being able to find anything else to do he 
accepted the position of night watchman in 
the place for a period of six weeks. He 
then became a bookkeeper for the Mer- 
chants Saving, Loan and Trust Company at 
a salary of five hundred dollars per year. 
He rapidly advanced in the service of this 
company and in i 868 he was made cashier. 
Mr. Gage was next offered the position of 
cashier of the First National Bank and ac- 
cepted the offer. He became the president 
of the First National Bank of Chicago Jan-^ 
uary 24. 1891, and in 1897 he was appointed 
secretary of the treasury. His ability as a 
financier and the prominent part he took in 
the discussion of financial affairs while presi- 
dent of the great Chicago bank gave him a 
national reputation. 



ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
at the Waxhaw settlement, Union county. 
North Carolina, March 15, 1767. His 
parents were Scotch-Irish, natives of Carr- 
ickfergus, who came to this country in 1665 
and settled on Twelve-Mile creek, a trib- 
utary of the Catawba. His father, who 
was a poor farm laborer, died short]}' be- 
fore Andrew's birth, when the mother re- 
moved to Waxhaw, where some relatives 
lived. Andrew's education was very limited, 
he showing no aptitude for study. In 1780 
when but thirteen years of age, he and his 



72 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



brother Robert volunteered to serve in the 
American partisan troops under General 
Sumter, and witnessed the defeat at Hang- 
ing Rock. The following year the boys 
were both taken prisoners by the enemy 
and endured brutal treatment from the 
British officers while confined at Camden. 
They both took the small pox, when the 
mother procured their e.xchange but Robert 
died shortly after. The mother died in 
Charleston of ship fever, the same year. 

Young Jackson, now in destitute cir- 
cumstances, worked for about six months in 
a saddler's shop, and then turned school 
master, although but little fitted for the 
position. He now began to think of a pro- 
fession and at Salisbury, North Carolina, 
entered upon the study of law, but from all 
accounts gave but little attention to his 
books, being one of the most roistering, 
rollicking fellows in that town, indulging in 
many of the vices of his time. In 1786 he 
was admitted to the bar and in 1788 re- 
moved to Nashville, then in North Carolina, 
with the appointment of public prosecutor, 
then an office of little honor or emolument, 
but requiring much nerve, for which young 
Jackson was already noted. Two years 
later, when Tennessee became a territory 
he was appointed by Washington to the 
position of United States attorney for that 
district. In 1791 he married Mrs. Rachel 
Robards, a daughter of Colonel John Don- 
elson, who was supposed at the time to 
have been divorced from her former hus- 
band that year by act of legislature of Vir- 
ginia, but two years later, on finding that 
this divorce was not legal, and a new bill of 
separation being granted by the courts of 
Kentucky, they were remarried in 1793. 
This was used as a handle by his oppo- 
nents in the political campaign afterwards. 
Jackson was untiring in his efforts as United 



States attorney and obtained much influence. 

He was chosen a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1796, when Tennessee 
became a state and was its first represent- 
ative in congress. In 1797 he was chosen 
United States senator, but resigned the fol- 
lowing year to accept a seat on the supreme 
court of Tennessee which he held until 
1804. He was elected major-general of 
the militia of that state in 1801. In 1804, 
being unsuccessful in obtaining the govern- 
orship of Louisiana, the new territory, he 
retired from public life to the Hermitage, 
his plantation. On the outbreak of the 
war with Great Britain in 1812 he tendered 
his services to the government and went to 
New Orleans with the Tennessee troops in 
January, 181 3. In March of that year he 
was ordered to disband his troops, but later 
marched against the Cherokee Indians, de- 
feating them at Talladega, Emuckfaw 
and Tallapoosa. Having now a national 
reputation, he was appointed major-general 
in the United States army and was sent 
against the British in Florida. He con- 
ducted the defence of Mobile and seized 
Pensacola. He then went with his troops 
to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he gained 
the famous victory of January 8, 1815. In 
18 17-18 he conducted a war against the 
Seminoles, and in 182 1 was made governor 
of the new territory of Florida. In 1823 
he was elected United States senator, but 
in 1824 was the contestant with J. Q. Adams 
for the presidency. Four years later he 
was elected president, and served two terms. 
In 1832 he took vigorous action against the 
nullifiers of South Carolina, and the next 
year removed the public money from the 
United States bank. During his second 
term the national debt was extinguished. At 
the close of his administration he retired to 
the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



73 



ANDREW CARNEGIE, the largest manu- 
facturer of pig-iron, steel rails and 
coke in the world, well deserves a place 
among America's celebrated men. He was 
born November 25, 1835, at Dunfermline, 
Scotland, and emigrated to the United States 
with his father in 1845, settling in Pittsburg. 
Two years later Mr. Carnegie began his 
business career by attending a small station- 
ary engine. This work did not suit him and 
he became a telegraph messenger with the 
Atlantic and Ohio Co., and later he became 
an operator, and was one of the first to read 
telegraphic signals by sound. Mr. Carnegie 
was afterward sent to the Pittsburg office 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., as clerk 
to the superintendent and manager of the 
telegraph lines. While in this position he 
made the acquaintance of Mr. Woodruff, the 
inventor of the sleeping-car. Mr. Carnegie 
immediately became interested and was one 
of the organizers of the company for its con- 
struction after the railroad had adopted it, 
and the success of this venture. gave him the 
nucleus of his wealth. He was promoted 
to the superintendency of the Pittsburg 
division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and 
about this time was one of the syndicate 
that purchased the Storey farm on Oil Creek 
which cost forty thousand dollars and in one 
year it yielded over one million dollars in 
cash dividends. Mr. Carnegie later was as- 
sociated with others in establishing a rolling- 
mill, and from this has grown the most ex- 
tensive and complete system of iron and 
steel industries ever controlled by one indi- 
vidual, embracing the Edgar Thomson 
Steel Works; Pittsburg Bessemer Steel 
Works; Lucy Furnaces; Union Iron Mills; 
Union Mill; Keystone Bridge Works; Hart- 
man Steel Works; Prick Coke Co.; Scotia 
Ore Mines. Besides directing his immense 
iron industries he owned eighteen English 



newspapers which he ran in the interest oi 
the Radicals. He has also devoted large 
sums of money to benevolent and educational 
purposes. In 1879 he erected commodious 
swimming baths for the people of Dunferm- 
line, Scotland, and in the following year 
gave forty thousand dollars for a free library. 
Mr. Carnegie gave fifty thousand dollars to 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1884 
to found what is now called "Carnegie Lab- 
oratory, " and in 18S5 gave five hundred 
thousand dollars to Pittsburg for a public 
library. He also gave two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars for a music hall and library 
in Allegheny City in 1886, and two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars to Edinburgh, Scot- 
land, for a free library. He also established 
free libraries at Braddock, Pennsylvania, 
and other places for the benefit of his em- 
ployes. He also published the following 
works, "An American Four-in-hand in 
Britain;" " Round the World;" "Trium- 
phant Democracy; or Fifty Years' March of 
the Republic." 



GEORGE H. THOMAS, the " Rock of 
Chickamauga, " one of the best known 
commanders during the late Civil war, was 
born in Southampton county, Virginia, July 
31, 1 8 16, his parents being of Welsh and 
French origin respectively. In 1836 young 
Thomas was appointed a cadet at the Mili- 
tary Academy, at West Point, from which 
he graduated in 1840, and was promoted to 
the office of second lieutenant in the Third 
Artillery. Shortly after, with his company, 
he went to Florida, where he served for two 
years against the Seminole Indians. In 
1 84 1 he was brevetted first lieutenant for 
gallant conduct. He remained in garrison 
in the south and southwest until 1845, at 
which date with the regiment he joined the 
army under General Taylor, and participat- 



74 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



ed .r *'. e defense of Fort Brown, the storm- 
inj^ '>f Monterey and the battle of Buena 
Vists After the latter event he remained 
in garrison, now brevetted major, until the 
close of the Mexican war. After a year 
spent in Florida. Captain Tfiomas was or- 
dered to West Point, where fie served as in- 
structor until 1854. He then was trans- 
ferred to California, fn May, 1855, Thom- 
as was appointed major of the Second Cav- 
alry, with whom he spent five years in Texas. 
Although a southern man, and surrounded 
by brother officers who all were afterwards 
r.n the Confederate service. Major Thomas 
never swerved from his allegiance to the 
government. A. S. Johnston was the col- 
onel of the regiment, R. E. Lee the lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and W. J. Hardee, senior ma- 
jor, while among the younger officers were 
Hood, Fitz Hugh Lee, Van Dornand Kirby 
Smith. When these officers left the regi- 
ment to take up arms for the Confederate 
cause he remained with it, and April 17th, 
1 86 1, crossed the Potomac into his native 
state, at its head. After taking an active part 
in the opening scenes of the war on the Poto- 
mac and Shenandoah, in August, 1861, he 
was promoted to be brigadier-general and 
transferred to the Army of the Cumberland. 
January 19-20, 1862, Thomas defeated 
Crittenden at Mill Springs, and this brought 
him into notice and laid the foundation of 
his fame. He continued in command of his 
division until September 20, 1862, except 
during the Corinth campaign when he com- 
manded the right wing of the Army of the 
Tennessee. He was in command of the 
latter at the battle of Perryville, also, Octo- 
ber 8, 1862. 

On the division of the Army of the Cum- 
berland into corps, January 9, 1863, Gen- 
eral Thomas was assigned to the command 
of the Fourteenth, and at the battle of Chick- 



amauga, after the retreat of Rosecrans, 
firmly held his own against the hosts of Gen- 
eral Bragg. A history of his services from 
that on would be a history of the war in the 
southwest. On September 27, 1864, Gen- 
eral Thomas was given command in Ten- 
nessee, and after organizing his army, de- 
feated General Hood in the battle of Nash- 
ville, December 15 and 16, 1864. Much 
complaint was made before this on account 
of what they termed Thomas' slowness, and 
he was about to be superseded because he 
would not strike until he got ready, but 
when the blow was struck General Grant 
was the first to place on record this vindica- 
tion of Thomas' judgment. He received a 
vote of thanks from Congress, and from the 
legislature of Tennessee a gold medal. Af- 
ter the close of the war General Thomas 
had command of several of the military di- 
visions, and died at San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, ^farch 28, 1870. 



GEORGE BANCROFT, one of the most 
eminent American historians, was a 
nativeof Massachusetts, born at Worcester, 
October 3, 1800, and a son of Aaron 
Bancroft, D. D. The father, Aaron Ban- 
croft, was born at Reading, Massachusetts, 
November 10, 1755- He graduated at 
Harvard in 1778, became a minister, and for 
half a century was rated as one of the ablest 
preachers in New England. He was also a 
prolific writer and published a number of 
works among which was " Life of George 
Washington." Aaron Bancroft died August 
19, 1839. 

The subject of our present biography, 
George Bancroft, graduated at Harvard in 
18 1 7, and the following year entered the 
University of Gottingen, where he studied 
history and philology under the most emi- 
nent teachers, and in 1820 received the de- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



75 



gree of doctor of philosophy at Gottingen. 
Upon his return home he pubhshed a volume 
of poems, and later a translation of Heeren's 
"Reflections on the Politics of Ancient 
Greece." In 1834 he produced the first 
volume of his " History of the United 
•States," this being followed by other vol- 
umes at different intervals later. This was 
bis greatest work and ranks as the highest 
authority, taking its place among the great- 
est of American productions. 

George Bancroft was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Polk in 1845, but 
resigned in 1846 and became minister pleni- 
potentiary to England. In 1849 he retired 
from public life and took up his residence at 
Washington, D. C. In 1867 he was ap- 
pointed United States minister to the court of 
Berlin and negotiated the treatyby which Ger- 
mans coming to the United States were re- 
leased from their allegiance to the govern- 
ment of their native land. In 1871 he was 
minister plenipotentiary to the German em- 
pire and served until 1874. The death of 
George Bancroft occurred January 17, 1891. 



/^EORGE GORDON MEADE, a fa- 
VJ mous Union general, was born at 
Cadi^, Spain, December 30, 181 5, his father 
being United States naval agent at that 
port. After receiving a good education he 
entered the West Point Military Academy 
in 1 83 1. From here he was graduated 
June 30, 1835, and received the rank of 
second lieutenant of artillery. He par- 
ticipated in the Seminole war, but resigned 
from the army in October, 1836. He en- 
tered upon the profession of civil engineer, 
which he followed for several years, part of 
the time in the service of the government in 
making surveys of the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi river. His report and results of some 
experiments made by him in this service 



gained Meade much credit. He alsu was 
employed in surveying the boundary hue of 
Texas and the northeastern boundary line 
between the United States and Car.ada. 
In 1842 he was reappointed in the armj^ to 
the position of second lieutenant of engineers. 
During the Mexican war he served with dis- 
tinction on the stafY of General Taylor in 
the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma 
and the storming of Monterey. He received 
his brevet of first lieutenant for the latter 
action. In 1851 he was made full first 
lieutenant in his corps; a captain in 1856, 
and major soon after. At the close of the 
war with Mexico he was employed in light- 
house construction and in geodetic surveys 
until the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 
which he gained great reputation. In 
August, 1 86 1, he was made brigadier-general 
of volunteers and placed in command of the 
second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, 
a division of the First Corps in the Army of 
the Potomac. In the campaign of 1862, 
under McClellan, Meade took an active 
part, being present at the battles of Mechan- 
icsville, Gaines' Mill and Glendale, in the 
latter of which he was severely wounded. 
On rejoining his command he was given a 
division and distinguished himself at its head 
in the battles of South Mountain and Antie- 
tam. During the latter, on the wounding 
of General Hooker, Meade was placed in 
command of the corps and was himself 
slightly wounded. For servi ces he was 
promoted, November, 1862, to the rank 
of major-general of volunteers. On the 
recovery of General Hooker General Meade 
returned to his division and in December, 
1862, at Fredericksburg, led an attack 
which penetrated Lee's right line and swept 
to his rear. Being outnumbered and un- 
supported, he finally was driven back. The 
same month Meade was assigned to the 



76 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



command of the Fifth Corps, and at Chan- 
cellorsville in May, 1863, his sagacity and 
ability so struck General Hooker that when 
the latter asked to be 'relieved of the com- 
mand, in June of the same year, he nomi- 
nated Meade as his successor. June 28, 
1863, President Lincoln commissioned Gen- 
eral Meade commander-in-chief of the Army 
of the Potomac, then scattered and moving 
hastily through Pennsylvania to the great 
and decisive battlefield at Gettysburg, at 
which he was in full command. With the 
victory on those July days the name of 
Meade will ever be associated. From that 
time until the close of the war he com- 
manded the Army of the Potomac. In 
1864 General Grant, being placed at the 
head of all the armies, took up his quarters 
with the Army of the Potomac. From that 
time until the surrender of Lee at Appo- 
matox Meade's ability shone conspicuously, 
and his tact in the delicate position in lead- 
ing his army under the eye of his superior 
officer commanded the respect and esteem 
of General Grant. For services Meade was 
promoted to the rank of major-general, and 
on the close of hostilities, in July, 1865, 
was assigned to the command of the military 
division of the Atlantic, with headquarters 
at Philadelphia. This post he held, with 
the exception of a short period on detached 
duty in Georgia, until his death, which took 
place November 6, 1872. 



DAVID CROCKETT was a noted hunter 
and scout, and also one of the earliest 
of American humorists. He was born Au- 
gust 17, 1786, in Tennessee, and was one 
of the most prominent men of his locality, 
serving as representative in congress from 
1827 until 1831. He attracted consider- 
able notice while a member of congress and 
was closely associated with General Jack- 



son, of whom he was a personal friend. He 
went to Texas and enlisted in the Texan 
army at the time of the revolt of Texas 
against Mexico and gained a wide reputa- 
tion as a scout. He was one of the famous 
one hundred and forty men under Colonel 
W. B. Travis who were besieged in Fort 
Alamo, near San Antonio, Texas, by Gen- 
eral Santa Anna with some five thousand 
Mexicans on February 23, 1836. The fort 
was defended for ten days, frequent assaults 
being repelled with great slaughter, over 
one thousand Mexicans being killed or 
wounded, while not a man in the fort was 
injured. Finally, on March 6, three as- 
saults were made, and in the hand-to-hand 
fight that followed the last, the Texans were 
wofully outnumbered and overpowered. 
They fought desperately with clubbed mus- 
kets till only six were left alive, including 
W. B. Travis, David Crockett and James 
Bowie. These surrendered under promise 
of protection; but when they were brought 
before Santa Anna he ordered them all to 
be cut to pieces. 



HENRY WATTERSON, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the history of 
American journalism, was born at Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, February 16, 
1840. His boyhood days were mostly spent 
in the city of his birth, where his father, 
Harvey M. Watterson, was editor of the 
"Union," a well known journal. 

Owing to a weakness of the eyes, which 
interfered with a systematic course of study, 
young W^atterson was educated almost en- 
tirely at home. A successful college career 
was out of the question, but he acquired a 
good knowledge of music, literature and art 
from private tutors, but the most valuable 
part of the training he received was by as- 
sociatinsr with his father and the throng ci 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAFHT. 



77 



public men whom he met in Washington 
in the stirring days immediately preceding 
the Civil war. He began his journalistic 
career at an early age as dramatic and 
musical critic, and in 1858, became editor 
of the "Democratic Review" and at the 
same time contributed to the "States," 
a journal of liberal opinions published in 
Washington. In this he remained until 
the breaking out of the war, when the 
"States," opposing the administration, was 
suppressed, and young Watterson removed 
to Tennessee. He ne.xt appears as editor 
of the Nashville "Republican Banner," the 
most influential paper in the state at that 
tihie. After the occupation of Nashville by 
the Federal troops, Watterson served as a 
volunteer staff officer in the Confederate 
service until the close of the war, with the 
exception of a year spent in editing the 
Chattanooga "Rebel." On the close of 
the war he returned to Nashville and re- 
sumed his connection with the "Banner." 
After a trip to Europe he assumed control 
of the Louisville "Journal," which he soon 
combined with the "Courier" and the 
"Democrat" of that place, founding the 
well-known "Courier-Journal," the first 
number of which appeared November 8, 
1868. Mr. Watterson also represented his 
district in congress for several years. 



PATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE, 
one of the most successful and widely 
known bandmasters and musicians of the 
last half century in America, was born in 
Ballygar, Ireland, on Christmas day, 1829. 
He attended a public school until appren- 
ticed to a wholesale merchant at Athlone, 
of the brass band of which town he soon 
became a member. His passion for music 
conflicting with the duties of a mercantile 
life, his position as clerk was exchanged for 



that of musical instructor to the young sons 
of his employer. At the age of nineteen he 
sailed for America and two days after his 
arrival in Boston was put in charge of the 
band instrument department of a prominent 
music house. In the interests of the pub- 
lications of this house he organized a minstrel 
company known as " Ordway's Eolians," 
with which he first achieved success as a 
cornet soloist. Later on he was called the 
best E-flat cornetist in the United States. 
He became leader, successively, of the Suf- 
folk, Boston Brigade and Salem bands. 
During his connection with the latter he 
inaugurated the famous Fourth of July con- 
certs on Boston Common, since adopted as 
a regular programme for the celebration of 
Independence Day. In 1858 Mr. Gilmore 
founded the organization famous thereafter 
as Gilmore's Band. At the outbreak of the 
Civil war this band was attached to the 
Twenty-Fourth .Massachusetts Infantry. 
Later, when the economical policy of dis- 
pensing with music had proved a mistake, 
Gilmore was entrusted with the re-organiza- 
tion of state military bands, and upon his 
arrival at New Orleans with his own band 
was made bandmaster-general by General 
Banks. On the inauguration of Governor 
Hahn, later on, in Lafayette square, New 
Orleans, ten thousand children, mostly of 
Confederate parents, rose to the baton of 
Gilmore and, accompanied by six hundred 
instruments, thirty-six guns and the united 
fire of three regiments of infantry, sang the 
Star-Spangled Banner, America and other 
patriotic Union airs. In June, 1867, Mr. 
Gilmore conceived a national musical festi- 
val, which was denounced as a chimerical 
undertaking, but he succeeded and June 15. 
1869, stepped upon the stage of the Boston 
Colosseum, a vast structure erected for the 
occasion, and in the presence of over fifty 



78 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHJ- 



thousand people lifted his baton over an 
orchestra of one thousand and a chorus of 
ten thousand. On the 17th of June, 1872, 
he opened a still greater festival in Boston, 
when, in addition to an orchestra of two 
thousand and a chorus of twenty thousand, 
were present the Band of the Grenadier 
Guards, of London, of the Garde Repub- 
licaine, of Paris, of Kaiser Franz, of Berlin, 
and one from Dublin, Ireland, together with 
Johann Strauss, Franz Abt and manj' other 
soloists, vocal and instrumental. Gilmore's 
death occurred September 24, 1892. 



MARTIN VAN BUREN was the eighth 
president of the United States, 1837 
to 1 84 1. He was of Dutch extraction, and 
his ancestors were among the earliest set- 
tlers on the banks of the Hudson. He was 
born December 5, 1782, at Kinderhook, 
New York. Mr. Van Buren took up the 
study of law at the age of fourteen and took 
an active part in political matters before he 
had attained his majority. He commenced 
the practice of law in 1803 at his native 
town, and in iSog he removed to Hudson, 
Columbia county, New York, where he 
spent seven years gaining strength and wis- 
dom from his contentions at the bar with 
some of the ablest men of the profession. 
Mr. Van Buren was elected to the state 
senate, and from 18 15 until 1S19 he was at- 
torney-general of the state. He was re- 
elected to the senate in 18 16, and in 181S 
he was one of the famous clique of politi- 
cians known as the "Albany regency." 
Mr. Van Buren was a member of the con- 
vention for the revision of the state consti- 
tution, in 1 82 1. In the same year he was 
elected to the United States senate and 
served his term in a manner that caused his 
re-election to that body in 1827, but re- 
signed the following year as he had been 



elected governor of New York. Mr. Van 
Buren was appointed by President Jackson as 
secretary of state in March, 1829, but resigned 
in 1831, and during the recess of congress 
he was appointed minister to England. 
The senate, however, when it convened in 
December refused to ratify the appointment. 
In May, 1832, he was nominated by the 
Democrats as their candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the ticket with Andrew Jackson, 
and he was elected in the following Novem- 
ber. He received the nomination to suc- 
ceed President Jackson in 1836, as the 
Democratic candidate, and in the electoral 
college he received one hundred and seventy 
votes out of two hundred and eighty-three, 
and was inaugurated March 4, 1837. His 
administration was begun at a time of great 
business depression, and unparalled financial 
distress, which caused the suspension of 
specie payments by the banks. Nearly 
every bank in the country was forced to 
suspend specie payment, and no less than 
two hundred and fifty-four business houses 
failed in New York in one week. The 
President urged the adoption of the inde- 
pendent treasury idea, which passed through 
the senate twice but each time it was de- 
feated in the house. However the measure 
ultimately became a law near the close of 
President Van Buren's term of office. An- 
other important measure that was passed 
was the pre-emption law that gave the act- 
ual settlers preference in the purchase of 
public lands. The question of slavery had 
begun to assume great preponderance dur- 
ing this administration, and a great conflict 
was tided over by the passage of a resolu- 
tion that prohibited petitions or papers that 
in any way related to slavery to be acted 
upon. In the Democratic convention ot 
1840 President Van Buren secured the 
nomination for re-election on that ticket 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



79 



without opposition, but in tiie election he 
only received the votes of seven states, his 
opponent, W. H. Harrison, being elected 
president. In 1848 Mr. Van Buren was 
the candidate of the " Free-Soilers, " but 
was unsuccessful. After this he retired 
from public life and spent the remainder of 
his life on his estate at Kinderhook, where 
he died July 24, 1862. 



w 



INFIELD SCOTT, a distinguished 
American general, was born June 13, 
1786, near Petersburg, Dinwiddle county, 
Virginia, and was educated at the William 
and Mary College. He studied law and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1S08 he accepted 
an appointment as captain of light artillery, 
and was ordered to New Orleans. In June, 

1812, he was promoted to be lieutenant- 
colonel, and on application was sent to the 
frontier, and reported to General Smyth, 
near Buffalo. He was made adjutant-gen- 
eral with the rank of a colonel, in March, 

1 8 1 3, and the same month attained the colo- 
nelcy of his regiment. He participated in 
the principal battles of the war and was 
wounded many times, and at the close of 
the war he was voted a gold medal by con- 
gress for his services. He was a writer of 
considerable merit on military topics, and 
he gave to the military science, "General 
Regulations of the Army " and " System of 
Infantry and Rifle Practice." He took a 
prominent part in the Black Hawk war, 
and at the beginning of the Mexican war he 
was appointed to take the command of the 
army. Gen. Scott immediately assembled 
his troops at Lobos Island from which he 
moved by transports to Vera Cruz, which 
he took March 29, 1847, and rapidly fol- 
lowed up his first success. He fought the 
battles of Cerro Gordo and Jalapa, both of 
■which he won, and proceeded to Pueblo 



where he was preceded by Worth's division 
which had taken the town and waited for the 
coming of Scott. The army was forced to 
wait here for supplies, and August 7th, 
General Scott started on his victorious 
march to the city of Mexico with ten thou- 
sand, seven hundred and thirty-eight men. 
The battles of Contreras, Cherubusco and 
San Antonio were fought August 19-20, 
and on the 24th an armistice was agreed 
upon, but as the commissioners could not 
agree on the terms of settlement, the fight- 
ing was renewed at Molino Del Rey, and 
the Heights of Chapultepec were carried 
by the victorious army of General Scott. 
He gave the enemy no respite, however, 
and vigorously followed up his advantages. 
On September 14, he entered the City of 
Mexico and dictated the terms of surrender 
in the very heart of the Mexican Republic. 
General Scott was offered the presidency of 
the Mexican Republic, but declined. Con- 
gress extended him a vote of thanks and 
ordered a gold medal be struck in honor of 
his generalship and bravery. He was can- 
didate for the presidency on the Whig plat- 
form but was defeated. He was honored by 
having the title of lieutenant-general con- 
ferred upon him in 1 85 5 . At the beginning of 
the Civil war he was too infirm to take charge 
of the army, but did signal service in be- 
half of the government. He retired from 
the service November i, 1861, and in 1864 
he published his "Autobiography." Gen- 
eral Scott died at West Point, May 29, 1866. 



EDWARD EVERETT HALE for many 
years occupied a high place among the 
most honored of America's citizens. As 
a preacher he ranks among the foremost 
in the New England states, but to the gen- 
eral public he is best known through his 
writings. Born in Boston, Mass., April 3, 



80 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



1822, a descendant of one of the most 
prominent New England families, he enjoyed 
in his youth many of the advantages denied 
the majority of boys. He received his pre- 
paratory schooling at the Boston Latin 
School, after which he finished his studies at 
Harvard where he was graduated with high 
honors in 1839. Having studied theology 
at home, Mr. Hale embraced the ministry 
and in 1846 became pastor of a Unitarian 
•church in Worcester, Massachusetts, a post 
which he occupied about ten years. He 
then, in 1856, became pastor of the South 
Congregational church in Boston, over which 
he presided many years. 

Mr. Hale also found time to write a 
great many literary works of a high class. 
Among many other well-known productions 
?f his are " The Rosary," " Margaret Per- 
cival in America." "Sketches of Christian 
iistory," "Kansas and Nebraska," " Let- 
,;ers on Irish Emigration," " Ninety Days' 
Worth of Europe," " If, Yes, and Perhaps," 
•'Ingham Papers," "Reformation," "Level 
8est and Other Stories, " ' ' Ups and Downs, " 
"Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," " In 
His Name," "Our New Crusade," "Work- 
ingmen's Homes," " Boys' Heroes," etc., 
etc., besides many others which might be 
mentioned. One of his works, " In His 
Name," has earned itself enduring fame by 
the good deeds it has called forth. The 
numerous associations known as ' "The King's 
Daughters," which has accomplished much 
good, owe their existence to the story men- 
tioned. 

DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT stands 
pre-eminent as one of the greatest na- 
val officers of the world. He was born at 
Campbell's Station, East Tennessee, July 
5, 1 80 1, and entered the navy of the United 
States as a midshipman. He had the good 



fortune to serve under Captain David Por- 
ter, who commanded the " Essex," and by 
whom he was taught the ideas of devotion 
to duty from which he never swerved dur- 
ing all his career. In 1823 Mr. Farragut 
took part in a severe fight, the result of 
which was the suppression of piracy in the 
West Indies. He then entered upon the 
regular duties of his profession which was 
only broken into by a year's residence with 
Charles Folsom, our consul at Tunis, who 
was afterwards a distinguished professor at 
Harvard. Mr. Farragut was one of the best 
linguists in the navy. He had risen through 
the different grades of the service until the 
war of 1861-65 found him a captain resid- 
ing at Norfolk, Virginia. He removed with 
his family to Hastings, on the Hudson, and 
hastened to offer his services to the Federal 
government, and as the capture of New 
Orleans had been resolved upon, Farragut 
was chosen to command the expedition. 
His force consisted of the West Gulf block- 
ading squadron and Porter's mortar flotilla. 
In January, 1862, he hoisted his pennant at 
the mizzen peak of the "Hartford" at 
Hampton roads, set sail from thence on the 
3rd of February and reached Ship Island on 
the 20th of the same month. A council of 
war was held on the 20th of April, in which' 
it was decided that whatever was to be done 
must be done quickly. Thesignal was made 
from the flagship and accordingly the fleet 
weighed anchor at 1:55 on the morning of 
April 24th, and at 3:30 the whole force was- 
underway. The history of this brilliant strug- 
gle is well known, and the glory of it made Far- 
ragut a hero and also made him rear admir- 
al. In the summer of 1 862 he ran the batteries 
at Vicksburg, and on March 14. 1863, he- 
passed through the fearful and destructive 
fire from Port Hudson, and opened up com- 
munication with Flag-officer Porter, who- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



m 



had control of the upper Mississippi. On 
May 24th he commenced active operations 
against that fort in conjunction with the army 
and it fell on July 9th. Mr. Farragut filled 
the measure of his fame on the 5th of Au- 
gust, 1864, by his great victory, the capture 
of Mobile Bay and the destruction of the 
Confederate fleet, including the formidable 
ram Tennessee. For this victory the rank 
of admiral was given to Mr. Farragut. He 
died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Au- 
gust 4, 1S70. 

GEORGE W. CHILDS, a philanthropist 
whose remarkable personality stood 
for the best and highest type of American 
citizenship, and whose whole life was an 
object lesson in noble living, was born in 
1829 at Baltimore, Maryland, of humble 
parents, and spent his early life in unremit- 
ting toil. He was a self-made man in the 
fullest sense of the word, and gained his 
great wealth by his own efforts. He was a 
man of very great influence, and this, in 
conjunction with his wealth, would have 
been, in the hands of other men, a means of 
getting them political preferment, but Mr. 
Childs steadily declined any suggestions that 
would bring him to figure prominently in 
public affairs. He did not choose to found 
a financial dynasty, but devoted all his 
powers to the helping of others, with the 
most enlightened beneficence and broadest 
sympathy. Mr. Childs once remarked that 
his greatest pleasure in life was in doing 
good to others. He always despised mean- 
ness, and one of his objects of life was to 
prove that a man could be liberal and suc- 
cessful at the same time. Upon these lines 
Mr. Childs made a name for himself as the 
director of one of the representative news- 
papers of America, "The Philadelphia Pub- 
lic Ledger," which was owned jointly by 
5 



himself and the Drexel estate, and which he 
edited for thirty years. He acquired con- 
trol of the paper at a time when it was be- 
ing published at a heavy loss, set it upon a 
firm basis of prosperity, and he made it 
more than a money-making machine — he 
made it respected as an exponent of the 
best side of journalism, and it stands as a 
monument to his sound judgment and up- 
right business principles. Mr. Childs' char- 
itable repute brought him many applications 
for assistance, and he never refused to help 
any one that was deserving of aid; and not 
only did he help those who asked, but he 
would by careful inquiry find those who 
needed aid but were too proud to solicit it. 
He was a considerable employer of labor, 
and his liberality was almost unparalleled. 
The death of this great and good man oc- 
curred February 3d, 1894. 



PATRICK HENRY won his way to un- 
dying fame in the annals of the early 
history of the United States by introducing 
into the house of burgesses his famous reso- 
lution against the Stamp Act, which he car- 
ried through, after a stormy debate, by a 
majority of one. At this time he exclaimed 
' ' Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Crom- 
well and George III " (here he was inter- 
rupted by cries of " treason ") " may profit 
by their example. If this be treason make 
the most of it." 

Patrick Henry was born at Studley, 
Hanover county, Virginia, May 29, 1736, 
and was a son of Colonel John Henry, a 
magistrate and school teacher of Aberdeen, 
Scotland, and a nephew of Robertson, the 
historian. He received his education from 
his father, and was married at the age of 
eighteen. He was twice bankrupted before 
he had reached his twenty-fourth year, when 
after six weeks of study he was admitted ta 



84 



COMPEKBICM OF .£IOGRAPHr 



the bar. He worked for three years with- 
out a case and finally was applauded for his 
plea lor the people's rights and gained im- 
mense popularity. After his famous Stamp 
Act resolution he was the leader of the pa- 
triots in Virginia. In 1769 he was admitted 
to practice in the general courts and speed- 
ily won a fortune by his distinguished ability 
as a speaker. He was the first speaker of 
the General Congress at Philadelphia in 
1774. He was for a time a colonel of 
militia in I775- and from 1776 to I779 and 
1 78 1 to 17S6 he was governor of Virginia. 
For a number of years he retired from pub- 
lic life and was tendered and declined a 
number of important political offices, and in 
March, 17S9, he was elected state senator 
but aid not take his seat on account of his 
death which occurred at Red Hill, Charlotte 
county, Virginia, June 6, 1799- 



BENEDICT ARNOLD, an American 
general and traitor of the Revolution- 
ary war, is one of the noted characters in 
Ameiican history. He was born in Nor- 
wich. Connecticut, January 3, I740- He 
ran away and enlisted in the army when 
young, but deserted in a short time. He 
then became a merchant at New Haven, 
Connecticut, but failed. In 1775 he was 
commissioned colonel in the Massachusetts 
militia, and in the autumn of that year was 
placed in command of one thousand men 
for the invasion of Canada. He marched 
his army through the forests of Maine and 
joined General Montgomery before Quebec. 
Their combined forces attacked that city on 
December 31, 1775- and Montgomery was 
killed, and Arnold, severely wounded, was 
compelled to retreat and endure a rigorous 
winter a few miles from the city, where they 
were at the mercy of the Canadian troops 
had they cared to attack them. On his re- 



turn he was raised to the rank of brigadier- 
general. He was given command of a small 
flotilla on Lake Champlain, with which he 
encountered an immense force, and though 
defeated, performed many deeds of valor. 
He resented the action of congress in pro- 
moting a number of his fellow officers and 
neglecting himself. In 1777 he was made 
major-general, and under General Gates at 
Bemis Heights fought valiantly. For some 
reason General Gates found fault with his 
conduct and ordered him under arrest, and 
he was kept in his tent until the battle of 
Stillwater was waxing hot, when Arnold 
mounted his horse and rode to the front of 
his old troop, gave command to charge, and 
rode like a mad man into the thickest of 
the fight and was not overtaken by Gates' 
courier until he had routed the enemy and 
fell wounded. Upon his recovery he was 
made general, and was placed in command 
at Philadelphia. Here he married, and his 
acts of rapacity soon resulted in a court- 
martial. He was sentenced to be repri- 
manded by the commander-in-chief, and 
though Washington performed this duty 
with utmost delicacy and consideration, it 
was never forgiven. Arnold obtained com- 
mand at West Point, the most important 
post held by the Americans, in 1 780, and 
immediately offered to surrender it to Sir 
Henry Clinton, British commander at New 
York. Major Andre was sent to arrange 
details with Arnold, but on his return trip 
to New York he was captured by Americans, 
the plot was detected, and Andre suffered 
the death penalty as a spy. Arnold es- 
caped, and was paid about $40,000 by the 
British for his treason and was made briga- 
dier-general. He afterward commanded an 
expedition that plundered a portion of Vir- 
ginia, and another that burned New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, and captured Fort Trum- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPJir 



85 



bull, the commandant of which Arnold mur- 
dered with the sword he had just surren- 
dered. He passed the latter part of his life 
in England, universally despised, and died 
in London June 14, iSoi. 



ROBERT G. IXGERSOLL, one of the 
most brilliant orators that America has 
produced, also a lawjer of considerable 
merit, won most of his fame as a lecturer. 
Mr. Ingersoll was born August 24, 1833, 
at Dr\ den. Gates county, New York, and 
received his education in the common schools. 
He went west at the age of twelve, and for 
a short time he attended an academy in 
Tennessee, and also taught school in that 
state. He began the practice of law in the 
southern part of Illinois in 1854. Colonel 
Ingersoll's principal fame was made in 
the lecture room by his lectures in which he 
ridiculed religious faith and creeds and criti- 
cised the Bible and the Christian religion. 
He was the orator of the day in the Decora- 
tion Day celebration in the citj" of New York 
in 1882 and his oration was widel}- com- 
mended. He first attracted political notice 
in the convention at Cincinnati in 1876 by 
his brilliant eulogy on James G. Blaine. He 
practiced law in Peoria, Illinois, for a num- 
ber of years, but later located in the city of 
New York. He published the follow- 
ing: "The Gods and other Lectures;" "The 
Ghosts;" "Some Mistakes of Moses;" 
"What Shall I Do To Be Saved;" "Inter- 
views on Talmage and Presbyterian Cate- 
chism ;" The "North American Review 
Controversy;" "Prose Poems;" " A Vision 
of War;" etc. 



JOSEPH ECCLESTON JOHNSTON, 
a noted general in the Confederate army, 
was born in Prince Edward county, ^'irginia, 
in 1S07. He graduated from West Point 



and entered the army in 1829. For a num- 
ber of years his chief service was garrison 
duty. He saw active service, however, in 
the Seminole war in Florida, part of the 
time as a staff officer of General Scott. He 
resigned his commission in 1837, but re- 
turned to the army a year later, and was 
brevetted captain for gallant services in 
Florida. He was made first lieutenant of 
topographical engineers, and was engaged 
in river and harbor improvements and also 
in the survey of the Te.xas boundary and 
the northern boundary of the United 
States until the beginning of the war 
with Mexico. He was at the siege of Vera 
Cruz, and at the battle of Cerro Gordo was 
wounded while reconnoitering the enemy's 
position, after which he was brevetted major 
and colonel. He was in all the battles about 
the city of Me.xico, and was again wounded 
in the final assault upon that cit\\ After 
the Mexican war closed he returned to duty 
as captain of topographical engineers, but 
in 1855 he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
cavalry and did frontier duty, and was ap- 
pointed inspector-general of the expedition 
to Utah. In i860 he was appointed quar- 
termaster-general with rank of brigadier- 
general. At the outbreak of hostilities in 
1 86 1 he resigned his commission and re- 
ceived the appointment of major-general of 
the Confederate arm\-. He held Harpers 
Ferrj-, and later fought General Patterson 
about Winchester. At the battle of Bull 
Run he declined command in favor of Beau- 
regard, and acted under that general's direc- 
tions. He commanded the Confederates in 
the famous Peninsular campaign, and was 
severely wounded at Fair Oaks and was 
succeeded in command by General Lee. 
Upon his recovery he was made lieutenant- 
general and assigned to the command of the 
southwestern department. He attempted 



«6 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH2'. 



to raise the siege of Vicksburg, and was 
finally defeated at Jackson, Mississippi. 
Having been made a general he succeeded 
General Bragg in command of the army of 
Tennessee and was ordered to check General 
Sherman's advance upon Atlanta. Not 
daring to risk a battle with the overwhelm- 
ing forces of Sherman, he slowly retreated 
toward Atlanta, and was relieved of com- 
mand by President Davis and succeeded by 
General Hood. Hood utterly destroyed his 
own army by three furious attacks upon 
Sherman. Johnston was restored to com- 
mand in the Carolinas, and again faced 
Sherman, but was defeated in several en- 
gagements and continued a slow retreat 
toward Richmond. Hearing of Lee's sur- 
render, he communicated with General 
Sherman, and finally surrendered his army 
at Durham, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. 
General Johnston was elected a member 
of the forty-sixth congress and was ap- 
pointed United States railroad commis- 
sioner in 1885. His death occurred March 
21, 1 891. 

SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, 
known throughout the civilized world 
as "Mark Twain," is recognized as one of 
the greatest huinorists America has pro- 
duced. He was born in Monroe county, 
Missouri, November 30, 1835. Hespenthis 
boyhood days in his native state and many 
of his earlier experiences are related in vari- 
ous forms in his later writings. One of his 
early acquaintances, Capt. Isaiah Sellers, 
at an early day furnished river news for the 
New Orleans " Picayune," using the noui- 
de-pliime of "Mark Twain." Sellers died 
in 1863 and Clemens took up his iioiii-dc- 
pliimc and made it famous throughout the 
world by his literary work. In 1862 Mr. 
'Clemens became a journalist at Virginia, 



Nevada, and afterward followed the same pro- 
fession at San Francisco and Buffalo, New 
York. He accumulated a fortune from the 
sale of his many publications, but in later 
years engaged in business enterprises, partic- 
ularly the manufacture of a typesetting ma- 
chine, which dissipated his fortune and re- 
duced him almost to poverty, but with resolute 
heart he at once again took up his pen and 
engaged in literary work in the effort to 
regain his lost ground. Among the best 
known of his works may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing: ' ' The Jumping Frog, " ' ' Tom Saw- 
yer," " Roughingit," " Innocents Abroad," 
"Huckleberry Finn," "Gilded Age," 
"Prince and Pauper," "Million Pound 
Bank Note," "A Yankee in King Arthur's 
Court," etc. 

CHRISTOPHER CARSON. better 
known as "Kit Carson;" was an Amer- 
ican trapper and scout who gained a wide 
reputation for his frontier work. He was a 
native of Kentucky, born December 24th, 
1809. He grew to manhood there, devel- 
oping a natural inclination for adventure in 
the pioneer experiences in his native state. 
When yet a young man he became quite 
well known on the frontier. He served as 
a guide to Gen. Fremont in his Rocky 
Mountain explorations and enlisted in the 
army. He was an officer in the United 
States service in both the Mexican war and 
the great Civil war, and in the latter received 
a brevet of brigadier-general for meritorious 
service. His death occurred May 23, 
1868. 

JOHN SHERMAN.— Statesman, politi- 
cian, cabinet officer andsenator, the name 
of the gentleman who heads this sketch is al- J 
most a household word throughout this | 
country. Identified with some of the most J 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



87 



important measures adopted by our Govern- 
ment since the close of the Civil war, he may 
well be called one of the leading men of his 
day. 

John Sherman was born at Lancaster, 
Fairfield county, Ohio, May loth, 1823, 
the son of Charles R. Sherman, an emi- 
nent lawyer and judge of the supreme court 
of Ohio and who died in 1829. The subject 
of this article received an academic educa- 
tion and was admitted to the bar in 1844. 
In the Whig conventions of 1844 and 1848 
he sat as a delegate. He was a member of 
the National house of representatives, 
from 1855 to 1861. In i860 he was re- 
elected to the same position but was chosen 
United States senator before he took his 
seat in the lower house. He was re-elected 
senator in 1866 and 1872 and was long 
chairman of the committee on finance and 
on agriculture. He took a prominent part 
in debates on finance and on the conduct of 
the war, and was one of the authors of the 
reconstruction measures in 1866 and 1867, 
and was appointed secretary of the treas- 
ury March 7th, 1877. 

Mr. Sherman was re-elected United States 
senator from Ohio January i8th, 1881, and 
again in 1886 and 1892, during which time 
he was regarded as one of the most promi- 
nent leaders of the Republican party, both 
in the senate and in the country. He was 
several times the favorite of his state for the 
nomination for president. 

On the formation of his cabinet in March, 
1897, President McKinley tendered the posi- 
tion of secretary of state to Mr. Sherman, 
which was accepted. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ninth 
president of the United States, was 
born in Charles county, Virginia, February 
9' 1773. the son of Governor Benjamin 



Harrison. He took a course in Hampden- 
Sidney College with a view to the practice 
of medicine, and then went to Philadelphia 
to study under Dr. Rush, but in 1791 he 
entered the army, and obtained the commis- 
sion of ensign, was soon promoted to the 
lieutenancy, and was with General Wayne 
in his war against the Indians. For his 
valuable service he was promoted to the 
rank of captain and given command of Fort 
Washington, now Cincinnati. He was ap- 
pointed secretary of the Northwest Territory 
in 1797, and in 1799 became its representa- 
tive in congress. In 1801 he was appointed 
governor of Indiana Territory, and held the 
position for twelve years, during which time 
he negotiated important treaties with the In- 
dians, causing them to relinquish millions of 
acres of land, and also won the battle of 
Tippecanoe in 181 1. He succeeded in 
obtaining a change in the law which did not 
permit purchase of public lands in less tracts 
than four thousand acres, reducing the limit 
to three hundred and twenty acres. He 
became major-general of Kentucky militia 
and brigadier-general in the United States 
army in 1812, and won great renown in 
the defense of Fort Meigs, and his victory 
over the British and Indians under Proctor 
and Tecumseh at the Thames river, October 

5, 1813- 

In 1 816 General Harrison was elected to 
congress from Ohio, and during the canvass 
was accused of corrupt methods in regard to 
the commissariat of the army. He demanded 
an investigation after the election and was 
exonerated. In 1819 he was elected to 
the Ohio state senate, and in 1824 he gave 
his vote as a presidential elector to Henry 
Clay. He became a member of the United 
States senate the same year. During the 
last year of Adams' administration he was 
sent as minister to Colombia, but was re- 



88 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



called by President Jackson the following 
year. He then retired to his estate at North 
Bend, Ohio, a few miles below Cincinnati. In 
1836 he was a candidate for tiie presidency, 
but as there were three other candidates 
the votes were divided, he receiving seventy- 
three electoral votes, a majority going to 
Mr. Van Buren, the Democratic candidate. 
Four years later General Harrison was again 
nominated by the Whigs, and elected by a 
tremendous majority. The campaign was 
noted for its novel features, many of which 
have found a permanent place in subsequent 
campaigns. Those peculiar to that cam- 
paign, however, were the ' ' log-cabin " and 
"hard cider" watchwords, which produced 
great enthusiasm among his followers. One 
month after his inauguration he died from 
an attack of pleurisy, April 4, 1841. 



CHARLES A. DANA, the well-known 
and widely-read journalist of New York 
City, a native of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, 
was born August 8, 18 19. He received 
the elements of a good education in his 
youth and studied for two years at Harvard 
University. Owing to some disease of the 
eyes he was unable to complete his course 
and graduate, but was granted the degree of 
A. M. notwithstanding. For some time he 
was editor of the " Harbinger," and was a 
regular contributor to the Boston " Chrono- 
type." In 1847 he became connected with 
the New York " Tribune," and continued on 
the staff of that journal until 1858. In the 
latter year he edited and compiled "The 
Household Book of Poetry," and later, in 
connection with George Ripley, edited the 
"New American Cyclopa;dia." 

Mr. Dana, on severing his connection 
with the " Tribune " in 1867, became editor 
of the New York "Sun," a paper with 
which he was identified for many years, and 



which he made one of the leaders of thought 
in the eastern part of the United States. 
He wielded a forceful pen and fearlessly 
attacked whatever was corrupt and unworthy 
in politics, state or national. The same 
year, 1867, Mr. Dana organized the New 
York "Sun " Company. 

During the troublous days of the war, 
when the fate of the Nation depended upon 
the armies in the field, Mr. Dana accepted 
the arduous and responsible position of 
assistant secretary of war, and held the 
position during the greater part of 1863 
and 1864. He died October 17, 1897. 



ASA GRAY was recognized throughout the 
scientific world as one of the ablest 
and most eminent of botanists. He was 
born at Paris, Oneida county, New York, 
November 18, 1810. He received his medi- 
cal degree at the Fairfield College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons, in Herkimer county. 
New York, and studied botany with the late 
Professor Torrey, of New York. He was 
appointed botanist to the Wilkes expedition 
in 1834, but declined the offer and became 
professor of natural history in Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1842. He retired from the active 
duties of this post in 1873, and in 1S74 he 
was the regent of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion at Washington, District of Columbia. 
Dr. Gray wrote several books on the sub- 
ject of the many sciences of which he was 
master. In 1836 he published his " Ele- 
ments of Botany," " Manual of Botany" in 
1848; the unfinished "Flora of North 
America," by himself and Dr. Torrey, the 
publication of which commenced in 1838. 
There is another of his unfinished works 
called "Genera Boreali-Americana," pub- 
lished in 1848, and the "Botany of the 
United States Pacific Exploring Expedition 
in 1854." He wrote many elaborate papers 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



89 



on the botany of the west and southwest 
that were pubHshed in the Smithsonian Con- 
tributions, Memoirs, etc., of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which in- 
stitution he was president for ten years. 
lie was also the author of many of the 
government reports. ' ' How Plants Grow, " 
"Lessons in Botany," " Structural and Sys- 
tematic Botany," are also works from his 
leady pen. 

Dr. Gray published in 1861 his "Free 
Examination of Darwin's Treatise " and his 
" Darwiniana," in 1876. Mr. Gray was 
elected July 29, 1878, to a membership in 
the Institute of France, Academy of Sciences. 
His death occurred at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, January 30, 1889. 



WILLIAM MAXWELL EVARTS was 
one of the greatest leaders of the 
Anierican bar. He was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 6, 1818, and grad- 
uated from Yale College in 1837. He took 
up the study of law, which he practiced in 
the city of New York and won great renown 
as an orator and advocate. He affiliated 
with the Republican party, which he joined 
soon after its organization. He was the 
leading counsel employed for the defense of 
..-.esident Johnson in his trial for inipeach- 
.rjsnt before the senate in April and May of 
1 868. 

In July, 1868, Mr. Evarts was appointed 
attorney-general of the United States, and 
served until March 4, 1869. He was one 
of the three lawyers who were selected by 
President Grant in 1871 to defend the inter- 
ests of the citizens of the United States be- 
fore the tribunal of arbitration which met 
at Geneva in Switzerland to settle the con- 
troversy over the " Alabama Claims." 

He was one of the most eloquent advo- 
cates in the United States, and many of his 



public addresses have been preserved and 
published. He was appointed secretary of 
state March 7, 1877, by President Hayes, 
and served during the Hayes administration. 
He was elected senator from the state of 
New York January 21, 1885, and at once 
took rank among the ablest statesmen in 
Congress, and the prominent part he took 
in the discussion of public questions gave 
him a national reputation. 



JOHN WANAMAKER.— The life of this 
<J great merchant demonstrates the fact 
that the great secret of rising from the ranks 
is, to-day, as in the past ages, not so much the 
ability to make money, as to save it, or in 
other words, the ability to live well within 
one's income. Mr. Wanamaker was born in 
Philadelphia in 1838. He started out in 
life working in a brickyard for a mere pit- 
tance, and left that position to work in a 
book store as a clerk, where he earned 
the sum of $5.00 per month, and later on 
was in the employ of a clothier where he 
received twenty-five cents a week more. 
He was only fifteen years of age at that 
time, but was a " money-getter " by instinct, 
and laid by a small sum for a possible rainy 
day. By strict attention to business, com- 
bined with natural ability, he was promoted 
many times, and at the age of twenty he 
had saved $2,000. After several months 
vacation in the south, he returned to Phila- 
delphia and became a master brick mason, 
but this was too tiresome to theyoung man, 
and he opened up the " Oak Hall " clothing 
store in April, 1861, at Philadelphia. The 
capital of the firm was rather limited, but 
finally, after many discouragements, they 
laid the foundations of one of the largest 
business houses in the world. The estab- 
lishment covers at the present writing some 
fourteen acres of floor space, and furnishes 



90 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH7'. 



employment for five thousand persons. Mr. 
Wanamaker was also a great church worker, 
and built a church that cost him $60,000, 
and he was superintendent of the Sunday- 
school, which had a membership of over 
three thousand children. He steadily re- 
fused to run for mayor or congress and the 
only public office that he ever held was that 
of postmaster-general, under the Harrison 
administration, and here he exhibited his 
extraordinary aptitude for comprehending 
the details of public business. 



D.AVID BENNETT HILL, a Demo- 
cratic politician who gained a na- 
tional reputation, was born August 29, 
1S43, at Havana, New York. He was 
educated at the academy of his native town, 
and removed to Elmira, New York, in 1862, 
where he studied law. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1864, in which year he was ap- 
pointed city attorney. Mr. Hill soon gained 
a considerable practice, becoming prominent 
in his profession. He developed a taste for 
politics in which he began to take an active 
part in the different campaigns and became 
the recognized leader of the local Democ- 
racy. In 1870 he was elected a member of 
the assembly and was re-elected in 1872. 
While a member of this assembly he formed 
the acquaintance of Samuel J. Tilden, after- 
ward governor of the state, who appointed 
Mr. Hill, W. M. Evarts and Judge Hand 
as a committee to provide a uniform charter 
for the different cities of the state. The 
pressure of professional engagements com- 
pelled him to decline to serve. In 1S77 
Mr. Hill was made chairman of the Demo- 
cratic state convention at Albany, his elec- 
tion being due to the Tilden wing of the 
party, ana he held the same position again 
in 1 88 1. He served one term as alderman 
M Elmira, at the expiration of which term, 



in 1882, he was elected mayor of Elmira, 
and in September of the same year was 
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the 
Democratic state ticket. He was success- 
ful in the campaign and two years later, 
when Grover Cleveland was elected to the 
presidency, Mr. Hill succeeded to the gov- 
ernorship for the unexpired term. In 1885 
he was elected governor for a full term of 
three years, at the end of which he was re- 
elected, his term expiring in 1891, in which 
year he was elected United States senator. 
In the senate he became a conspicuous 
figure and gained a national reputation. 



ALLEN G. THURMAN.—" The noblest 
Roman of them all"' was the title by 
which Mr. Thurman was called by his com- 
patriots of the Democracy. He was the 
greatest leader of the Democratic party in 
his day and held the esteem of all the 
people, regardless of their political creeds. 
Mr. Thurman was born November 13, 18 13, 
at Lynchburg, Virginia, where he remained 
until he had attained the age of six years, 
when he moved to Ohio. He received an 
academic education and after graduating, 
took up the study of law, was admitted to 
the bar in 1835, and achieved a brilliant 
success in that line. In political life he was 
very successful, and his first office was that 
of representative of the state of Ohio in the 
twenty-ninth congress. He was elected 
judge of the supreme court of Ohio in 1851, 
and was chief justice of the same from 1854 
to 1856. In 1867 he was the choice of the 
Democratic party of his state for governor, 
and was elected to the United States senate 
in 1869 to succeed Benjamin F. Wade, 
and was re-elected to the same position in 
1S74. He was a prominent figure in the 
senate, until the expiration of his service i 1 
1 88 1. Mr. Thurman was also one of the 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



91 



principal presidental possibilities in the 
Democratic convention held at St. Louis in 
1876. In 1888 he was the Democratic 
nominee for vice-president on the ticket 
with Grover Cleveland, but was defeated. 
Allen Cranberry Thurman died December 
12, 1895, at Columbus, Ohio. 



CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE, better 
known as " Artemus Ward," was born 
x\pril 26, 1834, in the village of Waterford, 
Maine. He was thirteen years old at the 
time of his father's death, and about a year 
later he was apprenticed to John M, Ri.x, 
who published the "Coos Count}" Dem- 
ocrat " at Lancaster, New Hampshire. Mr. 
Browne remained with him one j'ear, when, 
hearing that his brother Cyrus was starting 
a paper at Norway, Maine, he left Mr. Rix 
and determined to get work on the new 
paper. He worked for his brother until the 
failure of the newspaper, and then went to 
Augusta, Maine, where he remained a few 
weeks and then removed to Skowhegan, 
and secured a position on the " Clarion." 
But either the climate or the work was not 
satisfactory to him, for one night he silently 
left the town and astonished his good mother 
by appearing unexpectedly at home. Mr. 
Browne then received some letters of recom- 
mendation to Messrs. Snow and Wilder, of 
Boston, at whose office Mrs. Partington's 
(B. P. Shillaber) ' ' Carpet Bag " was printed, 
and he was engaged and remained there for 
three \-ears. He then traveled westward in 
search of employment and got as far as Tif- 
fin, Ohio, where he found employment in the 
office of the "Advertiser," and remained 
there some months when he proceeded to 
Toledo, Ohio, where he became one of the 
staff of the "Commercial," which position 
he held until 1857. Mr. Browne next went 
cc Cleveland, Ohio, and became the local 



editor of the " Plain Dealer," and it was in 
the columns of this paper that he published 
his first articles and signed them "Artemus 
Ward." In i860 he went to New York and 
became the editor of " Vanity Fair," but 
the idea of lecturing here seized him, and he 
was fully determined to make the trial. 
Mr. Browne brought out his lecture, "Babes 
in the Woods "at Clinton Hall, December 
23, 1861, and in 1862 he published his first 
book entitled, "Artemus Ward; His Book." 
He attained great fame as a lecturer and his 
lectures were not confined to America, for 
he went to England in 1866, and became 
exceedingly popular, both as a lecturer and 
a contributor to "Punch." Mr. Browne 
lectured for the last time January 23, 1867. 
He died in Southampton, England, March 
6, 1867. 

THURLOW WEED, a noted journalist 
and politician, was bora in Cairo, New 
York, November 15, 1797. He learned the 
printer's trade at the age of twelve years, 
and worked at this calling for several years 
in various villages in centra! New York. He 
served as quartermaster-sergeant during the 
warofi8i2. In 1818 he established the 
"Agriculturist," at Norwich, New York, 
and became editor of the ' ' Anti-Masonic 
Enquirer," at Rochester, in 1826. In the 
same year he was elected to the legislature 
and re-elected in 1830, when he located in 
Albany, New York, and there started the 
" Evening Journal," and conducted it in op- 
position to the Jackson administration and 
the nullification doctrines of Calhoun. H2 
became an adroit party manager, and was 
instrumental in promoting the nominations 
of Harrison, Taylor and Scott for the pres- 
idency. In 1856 and in i860 he threw his 
support to W. H. Seward, but when defeat- 
ed in his object, he gave cordial support to 






COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



I'reiuoht and Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln pre- 
ve-led upon him to visit the various capitals 
of Europe, where he proved a valuable aid 
to the administration in moulding the opin- 
ions of the statesmen of that continent 
favorable to the cause of the Union. 

Mr. Weed's connection with the ' ' Even- 
ing Journal " was severed in 1862, when he 
settled in New York, and for a time edited 
the "Commercial Advertiser." In 1868 he 
retired from active life. His " Letters from 
Europe and the West Indies," published in 
1 866, together with some interesting ■ ' Rem- 
iniscences, " published in the "Atlantic 
Monthly," in 1 870, an autobiography, and 
portions of an extensive correspondence will 
be of great value to writers of the political 
history of the United States. Mr. Weed 
died in New York, November 22, 1882. 



WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY, 
one of the prominent Democratic 
politicians of the country and ex-secretary of 
the navy, was born July 5th, 1841, at Con- 
way, Massachusetts, and received his edu- 
cation at Williston Seminary, East Hamp- 
ton, Massachusetts. Later he attended 
Yale College, where he graduated in 1863, 
and entered the Harvard Law School, which 
he left in 1864. Beginning practice in New 
York city, he soon gained a reputation as 
an able lawyer. He made his first appear- 
ance in public affairs in 1871, when he was 
active in organizing a young men's Demo- 
cratic club. In 1872 he was the recognized 
leader of the county Democracy and in 1875 
was appointed corporation counsel for the 
city of New York. He resigned the office, 
1882, to attend to personal interests and on 
March 5, 1885, he was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Cleveland. Under 
his administration the navy of the United 
States rapidly rose in rank among the navies 



of the world. When he retired from office 
in 1889, the vessels of the United States 
navy designed and contracted for by him 
were five double-turreted monitors, two 
new armor-clads, the dynamite cruiser "Ve- 
suvius," and five unarmored steel and iron 
cruisers. 

Mr. Whitney was the leader of the 
Cleveland forces in the national Democratic 
convention of 1892. 



EDWIN FORREST, the first and great- 
est American tragedian, v.'as born in 
Philadelphia in 1806. His father was a 
tradesman, and some accounts state that he 
had marked out a mercantile career for his 
son, Edwin, while others claim that he had 
intended him for the ministry. His wonder- 
ful memory, his powers of mimicry and his 
strong musical voice, however, attracted at- 
tention before he was eleven years old, and 
at that age he made his first appearance on 
the stage. The costume in which heappeared 
was so ridiculous that he left the stage in a 
fit of anger amid a roar of laughter from 
the audience. This did not discourage him, 
however, and at the age of fourteen, after 
some preliminary training in elocution, he 
appeared again, this time as Young Norvel, 
and gave indications of future greatness. 
Up to 1826 he played entirely with strolling 
companies through the south and west, but 
at that time he obtained an engagement at 
the Bowery Theater in New York. From 
that time his fortune was made. His man- 
ager paid him $40 per night, and it is stated 
that he loaned Forrest to other houses from 
time to time at $200 per night. His great 
successes were Virginius, Damon, Othello, 
Coriolanus, William Tell, Spartacus and 
Lear. He made his first appearance in 
London in 1836, and his success was un- 
questioned from the start. In 1845, on hs 



COMPENDIUM OF BfOGRAPHT. 



93 



second appearance in London, he became 
involved in a bitter rivalry with the great 
English actor, Macready, who had visited 
America two years before. The result was 
that Forrest was hissed from the stage, and 
it was charged that Macready had instigated 
the plot. Forrest's resentment was so bitter 
that he himself openly hissed Macready 
from his box a few nights later. In 1848 
Macready again visited America at a time 
when American admiration and enthusiasm 
for Forrest had reached its height. Macready 
undertook to play at Astor Place Opera 
House in May, 1849, but was hooted off the 
stage. A few nights later Macready made a 
second attempt to play at the same house, 
this time under police protection. The house 
was filled with Macready'sfriends, but the vio- 
olence of the mob outside stopped the play, 
and the actor barely escaped with his life. 
Upon reading the riot act the police and 
troops were assaulted with stones. The 
troops replied, first with blank cartridges, 
and then a volley of lead dispersed the 
mob, leaving thirty men dead or seriously 
wounded. 

After this incident Forrest's popularity 
waned, until in 1855 he retired from the 
stage. He re-appeared in i860, however, 
and probably the most remunerative period 
of his life was between that date and the 
close of the Civil war. His last appearance 
on the stage was at the Globe Theatre, 
Boston, in Richelieu,, in April, 1872, his 
■death occurring December 12 of that year. 



NOAH PORTER, D. D., LL. D., was 
one of the most noted educators, au- 
thors and scientific writers of the United 
States. He was born December 14, 181 1, 
at Farmington, Connecticut, graduated at 
Yale College in 1831, and was master of 
Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven in 



1831-33- During 1833-35 he was a tutor 
at Yale, and at the same time was pursuing 
his theological studies, and became pastor 
of the Congregational church at New Mil- 
ford, Connecticut, in April, 1836. Dr. 
Porter removed to Springfield, Massachu- 
setts, in 1843, and was chosen professor of 
metaphysics and moral philosophy at Yale 
in 1846. He spent a year in Germany in 
the study of modern metaphysics in 1853— 
54, and in 1871 he was elected president of 
Yale College. He resigned the presidency 
in 1885, but still remained professor of met- 
aphysics and moral philosophy. He was 
the author of a number of works, among 
which are the following: " Historical Es- 
say," written in commemorationof the 200th 
aniversary of the settlement of the town of 
Farmington; " Educational System of the 
Jesuits Compared;" "The Human Intel- 
lect," with an introduction upon psychology 
and the soul; " Books and Reading;" 
"American Colleges and the American Pub- 
lic;" " Elementsof Intellectual Philosophy;" 
" The Science of Nature versus the Science 
of Man;" "Science and Sentiment;" "Ele- 
ments of Moral Science." Dr. Porter was 
the principal editor of the revised edition of 
Webster's Dictionary in 1864, and con- 
tributed largely to religious reviews and 
periodicals. Dr. Porter's death occurred 
March 4, 1892, at New Haven, Connecticut. 



JOHN TYLER, tenth president of the 
United States, was born in Charles City 
county, Virginia, March 29, 1790, and was 
the son of Judge John Tyler, one of the 
most distinguished men of his day. 

When but twelve years of age young 
John Tyler entered William and Mary Col- 
lege, graduating from there in 1806. He 
took up the study of law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1809, when but nineteen years 



94 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of age. On attaining his majority in 1811 
he was elected a member of the state legis- 
lature, and for five years held that position 
by the almost unanimous vote of his county, 
He was elected to congress in 18 16, and 
served in that body for four years, after 
which for two years he represented his dis- 
trict again in the legislature of the state. 
While in congress, he opposed the United 
States bank, the protective policy and in- 
ternal improvements by the United States 
government. 1825 saw Mr. Tyler governor 
of Virginia, but in 1827 he was chosen 
member of the United States senate, and 
held that office for nine years. He therein 
opposed the administration of Adams and 
the tariff bill of 1828, sympathized with the 
nuUif'ers of South Carolina and was the 
only senator who voted against the Force 
bill for the suppression of that state's insip- 
ient rebellion. He resigned his position as 
senator on account of a disagreement with 
the legislature of his state in relation to his 
censuring President Jackson. He retired to 
Williamsburg, Virginia, but being regarded 
as a martyr by the Whigs, whom, hereto- 
fore, he had always opposed, was supported 
by many of that party for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1836. He sat in the Virginia leg- 
islature as a Whig in 1839-40, and was a 
delegate to the convention of that party in 
i8;9. This national convention nominated 
him for the second place on the ticket with 
General William H. H. Harrison, and he 
was elected vice-president in November, 
1840. President Harrison dying one month 
after his inauguration, he was succeeded by 
John Tyler. He retained the cabinet chosen 
by his predecessor, and for a time moved in 
harmony with the Whig party. He finally 
instructed the secretary of the treasury, 
Thomas Ewing, to submit to congress a bill 
for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the 



United States, which was passed by con- 
gress, but vetoed by the president on ac- 
count of some amendments he considered 
unconstitutional. For this and other meas- 
ures he was accused of treachery to his 
party, and deserted by his whole cabinet, 
except Daniel Webs' ar. Things grew worse 
until he was abandoned by the Whig party 
formally, when Mr. Webster resigned. He 
was nominated at Baltimore, in May, 1844, 
at the Democratic convention, as their pres- 
idential candidate, but withdrew from the 
canvass, as he saw he had not succeed- 
ed in gaining the confidence of his old 
party. He then retired from politics until 
February, 1861, when he was made presi- 
dent of the abortive peace congress, which 
met in Washington. He shortly after re- 
nounced his allegiance to the United States 
and was elected a member of the Confeder- 
ate congress. He died at Richmond, Janu- 
ary 17, 1862. 

Mr. Tyler married, in 181 3, Miss Letitia 
Christian, who died in 1842 at Washington. 
June 26, 1844, he contracted a second mar- 
riage, with Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. 



c 



'OLLIS POTTER HUNTINGTON, 
\-J one of the great men of his time and 
who has left his impress upon the history of 
our national development, was born October 
22, 1 82 1, at Harwinton, Connecticut. 
He received a common-school education 
and at the age of fourteen his spirit of get- 
ting along in the world mastered his educa- 
tional propensities and his father's objec- 
tions and he left school. He went to Cali- 
fornia in the early days and had opportunities 
which he handled masterfully. Others had 
the same opportunities but they did not have 
his brains nor his energy, and it was he who 
overcame obstacles and reaped the reward 
of his genius. Transcontinental railways 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



95 



were inevitable, but the realization of this 
masterful achievement would have been de- 
layed to a much later day if there had been 
no Huntington. He associated himself with 
Messrs. Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, 
and Charles Crocker, and they furnished the 
money necessary for a survey across the 
Sierra Nevadas, secured a charter for the 
road, and raised, with the government's aid, 
money enough to construct and equip that 
railway, which at the time of its completion 
was a marvel of engineering and one of the 
wonders of the world. Mr. Huntington be- 
came president of the Southern Pacific rail- 
road, vice-president of the Central Pacific; 
trustee of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph 
Company, and a director of the Occidental 
and Oriental Steamship Companj", besides 
being identified with many other business 
enterprises of vast importance. 



GEORGE A. CUSTER, a famous In- 
dian fighter, was born in Ohio in 1840. 
He graduated at West Point in 1861, an- 
served in the Civil war; was at Bull Run id 
1 86 1, and was in the Peninsular campaign, 
being one of General McClellan's aides-de, 
camp. He fought in the battles of South 
Mountain and Antietam in 1863, and was 
with General Stoneman on his famous 
cavalry raid. He was engaged in the battle 
of Gettysburg, and was there made brevet- 
major. In 1863 was appointed brigadier- 
general of volunteers. General Custer was 
in many skirmishes in central Virginia in 
1863-64, and was present at the following 
battles of the Richmond campaign: Wil- 
derness, Todd's Tavern, Yellow Tavern, where 
he wasbrevetted lieutenant-colonel ; Meadow 
Bridge, Haw's Shop, Cold Harbor, Trevil- 
lian Station. In the Shenandoah Valley 
1 864-65 he was brevetted colonel at Opequan 
Creek, and at Cedar Creek he was made 



brevet major-general for gallant conduct 
during the engagement. General Custer 
was in command of a cavalry division in the 
pursuit of Lee's army in 1865, and fought 
at Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, 
where he was made brevet brigadier-general ; 
Sailors Creek and Appomattox, where he 
gained additional honors and was made 
brevet major-general, and was given the 
command of the cavalry in the military 
division of the southwest and Gulf, in 1865. 
After the establishment of peace he went 
west on frontier duty and performed gallant 
and valuable service in the troubles with the 
Indians. He was killed in the massacre on 
the Little Big Horn river. South Dakota, 
June 25, 1876. 



DANIEL WOLSEY VOORHEES, cel- 
brated as " The Tall Sycamore of the 
Wabash," was born September 26, 1827, 
in Butler county, Ohio. When he was two 
months old his parents removed to Fount- 
ain county, Indiana. He grew to manhood 
on a farm, engaged in all the arduous work 
pertaining to rural life. In 1845 he entered 
the Indiana Asbury University, now the De 
Pauw, from which he graduated in 1849. 
He took up the study of law at Crawfords- 
ville, and in 185 1 began the practice of his 
profession at Covington, Fountain county, 
Indiana. He became a law partner of 
United States Senator' Hannegan, of Indi- 
ana, in 1852, and in 1856 he was an unsuc- 
cessful candidate for congress. In the fol- 
lowing year he took up his residence in Terre 
Haute, Indiana. He was United States 
district attorney for Indiana from 1857 until 
1 86 1, and he had during this period been 
elected to congress, in i860. Mr. Voorhees 
was re-elected to congress in 1862 and 1864, 
but he was unsuccessful in the election of 
1866. However, he was returned to con- 



96 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



gress in iS6S, where he remained until 1874, 
having been re-elected twice. In 1S77 he 
was appointed United States senator from 
Indiana to fill a vacancy caused by the death 
of O. P. Morton, and at the end of the term 
was elected for the ensuing term, being re- 
elected in 1885 and in 1891 to the same of- 
fice. He served with distinction on many 
of the committees, and took a very prom- 
inent part in the discussion of ail the im- 
portant legislation of his time. His death 
occurred in August. 1S9 . 



ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, fa- 
mous as one of the inventors of the tele- 
phone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
March 3rd, 1847. He received his early 
education in the high school and later he 
attended the university, and was specially 
trained to follow his grandfather's profes- 
sion, that of removing impediments of 
speech. He emigrated to the United States 
in 1872, and introduced into this country 
his father's invention of visible speech in the 
institutions for deaf-mutes. Later he was 
appointed professor of vocal physiology in 
the Boston University. He worked for 
many years during his leisure hours on his 
telephonic discovery, and finally perfected 
it and exhibited it publicly, before it had 
reached the high state of perfection to which 
he brought it. His first exhibition of it was 
at the Centennial Exhibition that was held 
in Philadelphia in 1876. Its success is now 
established throughout the civilized world. 
In 1S83 Prof. Bell received a diploma and 
the decoration of the Legion of Honor from 
the Academv of Sciences of France. 



WILLIAM HICKLIXG PRESCOTT. 
the justly celebrated historian and 
author, was a native of Salem, Massachu- 
setts, and was born Maj- 4, 1796. He was 



the son of Judge William Prescott and the 
grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill, Colonel 
William Prescott. 

Our subject in iSoS removed with the 
famil}- to Boston, in the schools of which 
cit)' he received his early education. He 
entered Harvard College as a sophomore in 
181 1, having been prepared at the private 
classical college of Rev. Dr. J. S. J. Gardi- 
jner. The following year he received an in- 
ury in his left eye which made study 
through life a matter of difficulty. He 
graduated in 18 14 with high honors in the 
classics and belle lettres. He spent several 
months on the Azores Islands, and later 
visited England, France and Italj", return- 
ing home in 1S17. In June, 18 18, he 
founded a social and literar\' club at Boston 
for which he edited "The Club Room," a 
periodical doomed to but a short life. May 
' 4, 1820, he married Miss Susan Amory. 
He devoted several years after that event to 
a thorough study of ancient and modern 
history and literature. As the fruits of his 
labors he published several well written 
essays upon French and Italian poetry and 
romance in the " North American Review." 
January 19, 1826, he decided to take up his 
first great historical work, the ' ' History of 
the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." To 
this he gave the labor of ten years, publish- 
ing the same December 25, 1S37. Although 
placed at the head of all American authors, 
so diffident was Prescott of his literary merit 
that although he had four copies of this 
work printed for his own convenience, he 
hesitated a long time before giving it to the 
public, and it was only by the solicitation of 
friends, especially of that talented Spanish 
scholar, George Ticknor, that he was in- 
duced to do so. Soon the volumes were 
translated into French, Italian, Dutch and 
German, and the work was recognized 



COMPBJVDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



97 



throughout the world as one of the most 
meritorious of historical compositions. In 
1S43 he published the "Conquest of Mexi- 
co," and in 1847 the "Conquest of Peru." 
Two years later there came from his pen a 
volume of " Biographical and Critical Mis- 
cellanies." Going abroad in the summer of 
1S50, he was received with great distinction 
in the literary circles of London, Edinburgh, 
Paris, Antwerp and Brussels. Oxford Uni- 
versity conferred the degree of D. C. L. 
upon him. In 1855 he issued two volumes 
of his "History of the Reign of Philip the 
Second," and a third in 1858. In the 
meantime he edited Robertson's "Charles 
the Fifth," adding a history of the life of 
that monarch after his abdication. Death 
cut short his work on the remaining volumes 
oi " Philip the Second," coming to him at 
Boston, Massachusetts, May 28, 1859. 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, a noted 
American commodore, was born in 
South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23, 
1785. He saw his first service as a mid- 
shipman in the United States nav\- in April, 
1799. He cruised with his father. Captain 
Christopher Raymond Perry, in the West In- 
dies for about two 3ears. In 1S04 he was 
in the war against Tripoli, and was made 
lieutenant in 1S07. At the opening of hostili- 
ties with Great Britain in 1812 he was given 
command of a fleet of gunboats on the At- 
lantic coast. At his request he was trans- 
ferred, a year later, to Lake Ontario, where 
he served under Commodore Chauncey, and 
took an active part in the attack on Fort 
George. He was ordered to fit out a squad- 
ron on Lake Erie, which he did, building 
most of his vessels from the forests along 
the shore, and bj' the summer of 1 8 1 3 he had 
a fleet of nine vessels at Presque Isle, now 
Erie, Pennsylvania September loth he- 



attacked and captured the British fleet near 
Put-in-Bay, thus clearing the lake of hostile 
ships. His famous dispatch is part of his 
fame, " \\'e have met the enemy, and they 
are ours." He co-operated with Gen. Har- 
rison, and the success of the campaign in 
the northwest was largely due to his victory. 
The next year he was transferred to the Po- 
tomac, and assisted in the defense of Balti- 
more. After the war he was in constant 
service with the various squadrons in cruising 
in all parts of the world. He died of yellow 
fever on the Island of Trinidad, August 23, 
1 8 19. His remains were conveyed to New- 
port, and buried there, and an imposing 
obelisk was erected to his memory by the 
State of Rhode Island. A bronze statue 
was also erected in his honor, the unveiling 
taking place in 18S5. 



JOHN PAUL JONES, though a native 
of Scotland, was one of America's most 
noted fighters during the Revolutionary war. 
He was born July 6, 1747. His father was 
a gardener, but the young man soon be- 
came interested in a seafaring life and at 
the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a 
sea captain engaged in the American trade. 
His first voyage landed him in ^^irginia, 
where he had a brother who had settled 
there several years prior. The failure of 
the captain released young Jones from his 
apprenticeship bonds, and he was engaged 
as third mate of a vessel engaged in the 
slave trade. He abandoned this trade after 
a few years, from his own sense of disgrace. 
He took passage from- Jamaica for Scotland 
in 1768, and on the voyage both the captain 
and the mate died and he was compelled to 
take command of the vessel for the re- 
mainder of the voyage. He soon after 
became master of the vessel. He returned 
to Virginia about 1773 to settle up the estate 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



or his brother, and at this time added the 
name "Jones," having previously been 
known as John Paul. He settled down in 
Virginia, but when the war broke out in 
1775 he offered his services to congress and 
was appointed senior Heutenant of the flag- 
ship "Alfred," on which he hoisted the 
American flag with his own hands, the first 
vessel that had ever carried a flag of the 
new nation. He was afterward appointed 
to the command of the "Alfred," and later 
of the "Providence," in each of which ves- 
sels he did good service, as also in the 
"Ranger," to the command of which he 
was later appointed. The fight that made 
him famous, however, was that in which he 
captured the " Serapis," off the coast of 
Scotland. He was then in command of the 
"Bon Homme Richard," which had been 
fitted out for him by the French government 
and named by Jones in honor of Benjamin 
Franklin, or " Good Man Richard," Frank- 
lin being author of the publication known 
as " Poor Richard's Almanac." The fight 
between the " Richard" and the "Serapis" 
lasted three hours, all of which time the 
vessels were at close range, and most of the 
time in actual contact. Jones' vessel was 
on fire several times, and early in the en- 
gagement two of his guns bursted, rendering 
the battery useless. Also an envious officer 
of the Alliance, one of Jones' own fleet, 
opened fire upon the " Richard " at a crit- 
ical time, completely disabling the vessel. 
Jones continued the fight, in spite of coun- 
sels to surrender, and after dark the " Ser- 
apis " struck her colors, and was hastily 
boarded by Jones and his crew, while the 
"Richard" sank, bows first, after the 
wounded had been taken on board the 
"Serapis." Most of the other vessels of 
the fleet of which the " Serapis" was con- 
voy, surrendered, and were taken with the 



"Serapis" to France, where Jones was 
received with greatest honors, and the king 
presented him with an elegant sword and 
the cross of the Order of Military Merit. 
Congress gave him a vote of thanks and 
made him commander of a new ship, the 
"America," but the vessel was afterward 
given to France and Jones never saw active 
sea service again. He came to America again, 
in 1787, after the close of the war, and was 
voted a gold medal by congress. He went to 
Russia and was appointed rear-admiral and 
rendered service of value against the Turks, 
but on account of personal enmity of the fav- 
orites of the emperor he was retired on a pen- 
sion. Failing to collect this, he returned to 
France, where he died, July 18, 1792. 



THOMAS MORAN, the well-known 
painter of Rocky Mountain scenery, 
was born in Lancashire, England, in 1837. 
He came to America when a child, and 
showing artistic tastes, he was apprenticed 
to a wood engraver in Philadelphia. Three 
years later he began landscape painting, and 
his style soon began to exhibit signs of genius. 
His first works were water-colors, and 
though without an instructor he began the 
use of oils, he soon found it necessary to 
visit Europe, where he gave particular at- 
tention to the works of Turner. He joined 
the Yellowstone Park exploring expedition 
and visited 'the Rocky Mountains in 1871 
and again in 1873, making numerous 
sketches of the scenery. The most note- 
worthy results were his ' ' Grand Canon of 
the Yellowstone," and " The Chasm of the 
Colorado," which were purchased by con- 
gress at $10,000 each, the first of which is 
undoubtedly the finest landscape painting 
produced in this country. Mr. Moran has 
subordinated art to nature, and the subjects 
he has chosen leave little ground for fault 



I 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



101 



finding on that account. "The Mountain 
of the Holy Cross," "The Groves Were 
God's First Temples," " The Cliffs of Green 
River," " The Children of the Mountain," 
" The Ripening of the Leaf," and others 
have given him additional fame, and while 
they do not equal in grandeur the first 
mentioned, in many respects from an artis- 
tic standpoint they are superior. 



L ELAND STANFORD was one of the 
greatest men of the Pacific coast and 
also had a national reputation. He was 
born March 9, 1824, in Albany county, New 
York, and passed his early life on his 
father's farm. He attended the local 
schools of the county and at the age of 
twenty began the study of law. He 
entered the law office of Wheaton, Doolittle 
and Hadley, at Albany, in 1845, and a few 
years later he moved to Port Washington, 
Wisconsin, where he practiced law four 
years with moderate success. In 1852 Mr. 
Stanford determined to push further west, 
and, accordingly went to California, where 
three of his brothers were established in 
business in the mining towns. They took 
Iceland into partnership, giving him charge 
of a branch store at Michigan Bluff, in 
Placer county. There he developed great 
business ability and four years later started 
a mercantile house of his own in San Fran- 
cisco, w'nich soon became one of the most 
substantial houses on the coast. On the 
formation of the Republican party he inter- 
ested himself in politics, and in i860 was 
sent as a delegate to the convention that 
nominated Abraham Lincoln. In the 
autumn of 1861 he was elected, by an im- 
mense majority, governor of California. 
Prior to his election as governor he had 
been chosen president of the newly-orga- 
mzed Central Pacific Railroad Company, 

6 



and after leaving the executive chair he de- 
voted all of his time to the construction of 
the Pacific end of the transcontinental rail- 
way. May 10, 1869, Mr. Stanford drove 
the last spike of the Central Pacific road, 
thus completing the route across the conti- 
nent. He was also president of the Occi- 
dental and Oriental Steamship Company. 
He had but one son, who died of typhoid 
fever, and as a monument to his child he 
founded the university which bears his son's 
name, Leland Stanford, Junior, University. 
Mr. Stanford gave to this university eighty- 
three thousand acres of land, the estimated 
value of which is $8,000,000, and the entire 
endowment is $20,000,000. In 1885 Mr. 
Stanford was elected United States senator 
as a Republican, to succeed J. T. Farley, a 
Democrat, and was re-elected in 1 891. His 
death occurred June 20, 1894, at Palo Alto, 
California. 



STEPHEN DECATUR, a famous com- 
modore in the United States navy, was 
born in Maryland in 1779. He entered the 
naval service in 1798. In 1804, when the 
American vessel Philadelphia had been run 
aground and captured in the harbor of Trip- 
oli, Decatur, at the head of a few men, 
boarded her and burned her in the face of 
the guns from the city defenses. For this 
daring deed he was made captain. He was 
given command of the frigate United States 
at the breaking out of the war of 18 12, and 
in October of that year he captured the 
British frigate Macedonian, and was re- 
warded with a gold medal by congress. Af- 
ter the close of the war he was sent as com- 
mander of a fleet of ten vessels to chastise 
the dey of Algiers, who was preying upon 
American commerce with impunity and de- 
manding tribute and ransom for the release 
of American citizens captured. Decatur 



102 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



captured a number of Algerian vessels, and 
compelled the dey to sue for peace. He 
was noted for his daring and intrepidity, 
and his coolness in the face of danger, and 
helped to bring the United States navy into 
favor with the people and congress as a 
means of defense and offense in time of 
war. He was killed in a duel by Commo- 
dore Barron, March 12, 1820. 



JAMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh 
president of the United States, 1845 to 
1849, was born November2, 1795, in Meck- 
lenburg county, North Carolina, and was 
the eldest child of a family of six sons. He 
removed with his father to the Valley of the 
Duck River, in Tennessee, in 1806. He 
attended the common schools and became 
very proficient in the lower branches of 
education, and supplemented this with 
a course in the Murfreesboro Academy, 
which he entered in 18 13 and in the autumn 
of 181 5 he became a student in the sopho- 
more class of the University of North Caro- 
lina, at Chapel Hill, and was graduated in 
1818. He then spent a Short time in re- 
cuperating his health and then proceeded to 
Nashville, Tennessee, where he took up the 
study of law in the office of Felix Grundy. 
After the completion of his law studies he 
was admitted to the bar and removed to 
Columbia, Maury county, Tennessee, and 
started in the active practice of his profes- 
sion. Mr. Polk was a Jeffersonian "Re- 
publican " and in 1823 he was elected to the 
legislature of Tennessee. He was a strict 
constructionist and did not believe that the 
general government had the power to carry 
on internal improvements in the states, but 
deemed it important that it should have that 
power, and wanted the constitution amended 
to that effect. But later on he became 
alarmed lest the general government might 



become strong enough to abolish slavery 
and therefore gave his whole support to the 
" State's Rights" movement, and endeavored 
to check the centralization of power in the 
general government. Mr. Polk was chosen 
a member of congress in 1825, and held that 
office until 1839. He then withdrew, as he 
was the successful gubernatorial candidate 
of his state. He had become a man of 
great influence in the house, and, as the 
leader of the Jackson party in that body, 
weilded great influence in the election of 
General Jackson to the presidency. He 
sustained the president in all his measures 
and still remained in the house after Gen- 
eral Jackson had been succeeded by Martin 
Van Buren. He was speaker of the house 
during five sessions of congress. He was 
elected governor of Tennessee by a large 
majority and took the oath of office at Nash- 
ville, October 4, 1839. He was a candidate 
for re-election but was defeated by Governor 
Jones, the Whig candidate. In 1844 the 
most prominent question in the election was 
the annexation of Texas, and as Mr. Polk 
was the avowed champion of this cause he 
was nominated for president by the pro- 
slavery wing of the democratic party, was 
elected by a large majority, and was inaug- 
urated March 4, 1845. President Polk 
formed a very able cabinet, consisting of 
James Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, Will- 
iam L. Marcy, George Bancroft, Cave John- 
son, and John Y. Mason. The dispute re- 
garding the Oregon boundary was settled 
during his term of office and a new depart- 
ment was added to the list of cabinet po- 
sitions, that of the Interior. The low tariff 
bill of 1846 was carried and the financial 
system of the country was reorganized. It 
was also during President Polk's term that 
the Mexican war was successfully conducted, 
which resulted in the acquisition of Califor- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



103 



nia and New Mexico. Mr. Polk retired from 
the presidency March 4, 1849, after having 
declined a re-nomination, and was succeeded 
by General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the 
Mexican war. Mr. Polk retired to private 
life, to his home in Nashville, where he died 
at the age of fifty-four on June 9, 1849. 



ANNA DICKINSON (Anna Elizabeth 
Dickinson), a noted lecturer and pub- 
lic speaker, was born at Philadelphia, Oc- 
tober 28, 1842. Her parents were Quakers, 
and she was educated at the Friends' free 
schools in her native city. She early man- 
ifested an inclination toward elocution and 
public speaking, and when, at the age of 18, 
she found an opportunity to appear before 
a national assemblage for the discussion of 
woman's rights, she at once established her 
reputation as a public speaker. From i860 
to the close of the war and during the ex- 
citing period of reconstruction, she was one 
of the most noted and influential speakers 
before the American public, and her popu- 
larity was unequaled by that of any of her 
sex. A few weeks after the defeat and 
death of Colonel Baker at Ball's Bluff, Anna 
Dickinson, lecturing in New York, made 
the remarkable assertion, "Not the incom- 
petency of Colonel Baker, but the treachery 
of General McClellan caused the disaster at 
Ball's Bluff." She was hissed and hooted 
off the stage. A year later, at the same 
hall and with much the same class of audi- 
tors, she repeated the identical words, and 
the applause was so great and so long con- 
tinued that it was impossible to go on with 
her lecture for more than half an hour. The 
change of sentiment had been wrought by 
the reverses and dismissal of McClellan and 
his ambition to succeed Mr. Lincoln as presi- 
dent. 

Ten years after the close of the war, Anna 



Dickinson was not heard of on the lec- 
ture platform, and about that time she made 
an attempt to enter the dramatic profession, 
but after appearing a number of times in dif- 
ferent plays she was pronounced a failure. 



ROBERT J. BURDETTE.— Some per- 
sonal characteristics of Mr. Burdette 
were quaintly given by himself in the follow- 
ing words: "Politics? Republican after 
the strictest sect. Religion .'' Baptist. Per- 
sonal appearance .' Below medium height, 
and weigh one hundred and thirty-five 
pounds, no shillings and no pence. Rich .^ 
Not enough to own a yacht. Favorite read- 
ing.' Poetry and history — 'know Longfellow 
by heart, almost. Write for magizines ^ 
Have mo^-e ' declined with thanks ' letters 
than would fill a trunk. Never able to get 
into a magazine with a line. Care about it.-* 
Mad as thunder. Think about starting a 
magazine and rejecting everbody's articles 
except my own." Mr. Burdette was born 
at Greensboro ugh, Pennsylvania, in 1844. 
He served through the war of the rebellion 
under General Banks "on an excursion 
ticket" as he felicitously described it, "good 
both ways, conquering in one direction and 
running in the other, pay going on just the 
same." He entered into journalism by the 
gateway of New York correspondence for 
the "Peoria Transcript," and in 1874 went 
on the "Burlington Hawkeye " of which he 
became the managing editor, and the work 
that he did on this paper made both him- 
self and the paper famous in the world of 
humor. Mr. Burdette married in 1870, 
and his wife, whom he called " Her Little 
Serene Highness," was to him a guiding 
light until the day of her death, and it was 
probably the unconscious pathos with which 
he described her in his work that broke the 
barriers' that had kept him out of the maga- 



104 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



zines and secured him the acceptance of his 
"Confessions" by Lippincott some years 
ago, and brought him substantial fame and 
recognition in the literary world. 



WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, one 
of the leading novelists of the present 
century and author of a number of works 
that gained for him a place in the hearts of 
the people, was born March i, 1837, at 
Martinsville, Belmont county, Ohio. At 
the age of three years he accompanied his 
father, who was a printer, to Hamilton, 
Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade. 
Later he was engaged on the editorial staff 
of the " Cincinnati Gazette " and the " Ohio 
State Journal." During 1S61-65 he was 
the United States consul at Venice, and 
from 1 87 1 to 1878 he was the editor-in- 
chief of the "Atlantic Monthly." As a 
writer he became one of the most fertile 
and readable of authors and a pleasing poet. 
In 18S5 he became connected with " Har- 
per's Magazine. " Mr. Howells was author 
of the list of books that we give below: 
"Venetian Life," " Italian Journeys," "No 
Love Lost," " Suburban Sketches," "Their 
Wedding Journey," "A Chance Acquaint- 
ance," "A Foregone Conclusion," "Dr. 
Breen's Practice," "A Modern Instance," 
"The Rise of Silas Lapham," "Tuscan 
Cities," "Indian Summer," besides many 
others. He also wrote the " Poem of Two 
Friends," with J. J. Piatt in i860, and 
some minor dramas: "The Drawing 
Room Car," "The Sleeping Car," etc., 
that are full of exqusite humor and elegant 
dialogue. 

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL was a son 
of the Rev. Charles Lowell, and was born 
at Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22, 
i8i9. He graduated at Harvard College in 



1838 as class poet, and went to Harvard 
Law School, from which he was graduated 
in 1840, and commenced the practice of his 
profession in Boston, but soon gave his un- 
divided attention to literary labors. Mr. 
Lowell printed, in 1841, a small volume of 
poems entitled " A Year's Life," edited with 
Robert Carter; in 1843, " The Pioneer, " a 
literary and critical magazine (monthly), and 
in 1848 another book of poems, that con- 
tained several directed against slavery. He 
published in 1844 a volume of "Poems" 
and in 1845 " Conversations on Some 
of the Old Poets," "The Vision of Sir 
Launfal," "A Fable for Critics, " and "The 
Bigelow Papers," the lattei satirical es- 
says in dialect poetry directed against 
slavery and the war with Mexico. In 
1851-52 he traveled in Europe and re- 
sided in Italy for a considerable time, and 
delivered in 1854-55 a course of lectures on 
the British poets, before the Lowell Insti- 
tute, Boston. Mr. Lowell succeeded Long- 
fellow in January, 1855, as professor of 
modern languages and literature at Harvard 
College, and spent another year in Em ope 
qualifying himself for that post. He edited 
the " Atlantic Monthly" from 1857 to 1862, 
and the "North American Review" from 
1863 until 1872. From 1864 to 1870 he 
published the following works: "Fireside 
Travels," " Under the Willows," "The 
Commemoration Ode," in honor of the 
alumni of Harvard who had fallen in the 
Civil war; "The Cathedral," two volumes 
of essays; "Among My Books" and "My 
Study Windows," and in 1867 he published 
a new series of the " Bigelow Papers." He 
traveled extensively in Europe in 1872-74, 
and received in person the degree of D. C. 
L. at Oxford and that of LL. D. at the 
University of Cambridge, England. He 
was also interested in political life and held 



■COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



105 



many important offices. He was United 
States minister to Spain in 1877 and was 
also minister to England in 1880-85. On 
January 2, 1884, he was elected lord rector 
of St. Andrew University in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, but soon after he resigned the same. 
Mr. Lowell's works enjoy great popularity 
in the United States and England. He 
died August 12, 1891. 



JOSEPH HENRY, one of America's 
greatest scientists, was born at Albany, 
New York, December 17, 1797. He was 
educated in the common schools of the city 
and graduated from the Albany Academy, 
where he became a professor of mathemat- 
ics in 1826. In 1S27 he commenced a 
course of investigation, which he continued 
for a number of years, and the results pro- 
duced had great effect on the scientific world. 
The first success was achieved by producing 
the electric magnet, and he ne.xt proved the 
possibility of exciting magnetic energy at a 
distance, and it was the invention of Pro- 
fessor Henry's intensity magnet that first 
made the invention of electric telegraph a 
possibility. He made a statement regarding 
the practicability of applying the intensity 
magnet to telegraphic uses, in his article to 
the "American Journal of Science " in 1831. 
During the same year he produced the first 
mechanical contrivance ever invented for 
maintaining continuous motion by means of 
electro-magnetism, and he also contrived a 
machine by which signals could be made at 
a distance by the use of his electro-magnet, 
the signals being produced by a lever strik- 
ing on a bell. Some of his electro-magnets 
were of great power, one carried over a ton 
and another not less than three thousand six 
hundred pounds. In 1832 he discovered 
that secondary currents could be produced 
'■- ^ long conductor by the induction of the 



primary current upon itself, and also in the 
same year he produced a spark by means of 
a purely magnetic induction. Professor 
Henry was elected, in 1832, professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in the College of New Jer- 
sey, and in his earliest lectures at Princeton, 
demonstrated the feasibility of the electric 
telegraph. He visited Europe in 1837, and 
while there he had an interview with Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone, the inventor of the 
needle magnetic telegraph. In 1846 he was 
elected secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, being the first incumbent in that office, 
which he held until his death. Professor 
Henry was elected president of the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of 
Science, in 1849, and of the National 
Academy of Sciences. He was made chair- 
man of the lighthouse board of the United 
States in 1871 and held that position up to 
the time of his death. He received the 
honorary degree of doctor of laws from 
Union College in 1829, and ftom Harvard 
University in 1851, and his death occurred 
May 13, 1878. Among his numerous works 
may be mentioned the following: "Contri- 
butions to Electricity and Magnetism," 
"American Philosophic Trans, " and many 
articles in the "American Journal of 
Science," the journal of the Franklin Insti- 
tute; the proceedings of the American As- 
sociation for the Advancement of Science, 
and in the annual reports of the Smith- 
sonian Institution from its foundation. 



FRANKLIN BUCHANAN, the famous 
rear-admiral of the Confederate navy 
during the rebellion, was born in Baltimore, 
Maryland. He became a United States 
midshipman in 18 15 and was promoted 
through the various grades of the service 
and became a captain in 1855. Mr. Buch- 
anan resigned his captaincy in order to join 



106 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



the Confederate service in 1861 and later he 
asked to be reinstated, but his request was 
refused and he then entered into the service 
of the Confederate government. He was 
placed in command of the frigate " Merri- 
mac " after she had been fitted up as an iron- 
clad, and had command of her at the time 
of the battle of Hampton Roads. It was 
he who had command when the " Merri- 
mac " sunk the two wooden frigates, " Con- 
gress" and "Cumberland," and was also 
in command during part of the historical 
battle of the " Merrimac " and the "Moni- 
tor," where he was wounded and the com- 
mand devolved upon Lieutenant Catesby 
Jones. He was created rear-admiral in the 
Confederate service and commanded the 
Confederate iieet in Mobile bay, which was 
defeated by Admiral Farragut, August 5, 
1864. Mr. Buchanan was in command of 
the "Tennessee," an ironclad, and during 
the engagement he lost one of his legs and 
was taken prisoner in the end by the Union 
fleet. After the war he settled in Talbot 
county, Maryland, where he died May 1 1 , 
1874- 

RICHARD PARKS BLAND, a celebrated 
American statesman, frequently called 
"the father of the house," because of his 
many years of service in the lower house 
of congress, was born August 19, 1835, 
near Hartford, Kentucky, where he received 
a plain academic education. He moved, 
in 1855, to Missouri, from whence he went 
overland to California, afterward locating in 
Virginia City, now in the state of Nevada, 
but then part of the territory of Utah. 
While there he practiced law, dabbled in 
mines and mining in Nevada and California 
for several years, and served for a time as 
treasurer of Carson county, Nevada. Mr. 
Bland returned to Missouri in 1865, where 



he engaged in the practice of law at Rolla, 
Missouri, and in 1869 removed to Lebanon, 
Missouri. He began his congressional career 
in 1873, when he was elected as a Demo- 
crat to the forty-third congress, and he was 
regularly re-elected to every congress after 
that time up to the fifty-fourth, when he was 
defeated for re-election, but was returned 
to the fifty-fifth congress as a Silver Demo- 
crat. During all his protracted service, 
while Mr. Bland was always steadfast in his 
support of democratic measures, yet he won 
his special renown as the great advocate of 
silver, being strongly in favor of the free 
and unlimited coinage of silver, and on ac- 
count of his pronounced views was one of 
the candidates for the presidential nomina- 
tion of the Democratic party at Chicago in 
1896. 

FANNY DAVENPORT (F. L. G. Daven- 
port) was of British birth, but she be- 
longs to the American stage. She was the 
daughter of the famous actor, E. L. Daven- 
port, and was born in London in 1850. 
She first went on the stage as a child at the 
Howard Athenjeum, Boston, and her entire 
life was spent upon the stage. She played 
children's parts at Burton's old theater in 
Chambers street, and then, in 1862, appeared 
as the King of Spain in " Faint Heart Never 
Won Fair Lady. " Here she attracted the 
notice of Augustin Daly, the noted mana- 
ger, then at the Fifth Avenue theater, who 
offered her a six weeks' engagement with 
her father in "London Assurance." She 
afterwards appeared at the same house in a 
variety of characters, and her versatility 
was favorably noticed by the critics. After 
the burning of the old Fifth Avenue, the 
present theater of that name was built at 
Twenty-eighth street, and here Miss Daven- » 
port appeared in a play written for her by 



COMrENDIi.M OF BIOGRAPHY. 



107 



Mr. Daly. She scored a great success. 
She then starred in this play throughout the 
country, and was married to Mr. Edwin F. 
Price, an actor of her company, in 1880. 
In 1882 she went to Paris and purchased 
the right to produce in America Sardou's 
great emotional play, "Fedora." It was 
put on at the Fourteenth Street theater in 
New York, and in it she won popular favor 
and became one of the most famous actresses 
of her time. 



HORACE BRIGHAM CLAFLIN, one 
of the greatest merchants America has 
produced, was born in Milford, Massachu- 
setts, a son of John Claflin, also a mer- 
chant. Young Claflin started his active life 
as a clerk in his father's store, after having 
been offered the opportunity of a college 
education, but with the characteristic 
promptness that was one of his virtues he 
exclaimed, "No law or medicine for me." 
He had set his heart on being a merchant, 
and when his father retired he and his 
brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law, Sam- 
uel Daniels, conducted the business. Mr. 
Clafhn was not content, however, to run a 
store in a town like Milford, and accordingly 
opened a dry goods store at Worcester, with 
his brother as a partner, but the partnership 
was dissolved a year later and H. B. Clafiin 
assumed complete control. The business 
in Worcester had been conducted on ortho- 
dox principles, and when Mr. Claflin came 
there and introduced advertising as a means 
of drawing trade, he created considerable 
animosity among the older merchants. Ten 
years later he was one of the most prosper- 
ous merchants. He disposed of his busi- 
ness in Worcester for $30,000, and went to 
New York to search for a wider field than 
that of a shopkeeper. Mr. Claflin and 
William M. Bulkley started in the dry goods 



business there under the firm name of Bulk- 
ley & Claflin, in 1843, and Mr. Bulkley was 
connected with the firm until 185 1, when he 
retired. A new firm was then formed under 
the name of Claflin, Mellin & Co. This 
firm succeeded in founding the largest dry 
goods house in the world, and after weather- 
ing the dangers of the civil war, during 
which the house came very near going un- 
der, and was saved only by the superior 
business abilities of Mr. Claflin, continued to 
grow. The sales of the firm amounted to 
over $72,000,000 a year after the close of 
the war. Mr. Claflin died November 14, 
1885. 

CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN (Charlotte^ 
Saunders Cushman), one of the most 
celebrated American actresses, was born in 
Boston, July 23, 1816. She was descended 
from one of the earliest Puritan families. 
Her first attempt at stage work was at the 
age of fourteen years in a charitable concert 
given by amateurs in Boston. From this- 
time her advance to the first place on the 
American lyric stage was steady, until, in 
1835, while singing in New Orleans, she 
suddenly lost control of her voice so far as 
relates to singing, and was compelled to re- 
tire. She then took up the study for the 
dramatic stage under the direction of Mr. 
Barton, the tragedian. She soon after 
made her debut as " Lady Macbeth." She 
appeared in New York in September, 1836, 
and her success was immediate. Her 
"Romeo" was almost perfect, and she is 
the only woman that has ever appeared in 
the part of " Cardinal Wolsey. " She at 
different times acted as support of Forrest 
and Macready. Her London engagement, 
secured in 1845, after many and great dis- 
couragements, proved an unqualified suc- 
cess. 



108 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



Her farewell appearance was at Booth's 
theater, New York, November 7, 1874, in 
the part of " Lady Macbeth," and after that 
performance an Ode by R. H. Stoddard 
was read, and a body of citizens went upon 
the stage, and in their name the venerable 
poet Longfellow presented her with a wreath 
of laurel with an inscription to the effect 
that "she who merits the palm should bear 
it." From the time of her appearance as a 
modest "jirl in a charitable entertainment 
down to the time of final triumph as a tragic 
queen, she bore herself with as much honor 
to womanhood as to the profession she rep- 
resented. Her death occurred in Boston, 
February 18, 1876. By her profession she 
acquired a fortune of $600,000. 



NEAL DOW, one of the most prominent 
temperance reformers our country has 
known, was born in Portland, Me., March 20, 
1804. He received his education in the 
Friends Seminary, at New Bedford, Massa- 
chusetts, his parents being members of that 
sect. After leaving school he pursued a 
mecrantile and manufacturing career for a 
number of years. He was active in the 
affairs of his native city, and in 1839 be- 
came chief of the fire department, and in 
1 85 1 was elected mayor. He was re-elected 
to the latter office in 1854. Being opposed 
to the liquor traffic he was a champion of 
the project of prohibition, first brought for- 
ward in I 839 by James Appleton. While 
serving his first term as mayor he drafted a 
bill for the "suppression of drinking houses 
and tippling shops," which he took to the 
legislature and which was passed without an 
alteration. In 1858 Mr. Dow was elected 
to the legislature. On the outbreak of the 
Civil war he was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Maine Infantry and accompanied 
General Butler's expedition to New Orleans. 



In 1862 he was made brigadier-general. At 
the battle of Port Hudson May 27, 1863, he 
was twice wounded, and taken prisoner. He 
was confined at Libby prison and Mobile 
nearly a year, when, being exchanged, he 
resigned, his health having given way under 
the rigors of his captivitj-. He made sev- 
eral trips to England in the interests of 
temperance organization, where he addressed 
large audiences. He was the candidate of 
the National Prohibition party for the presi- 
dency in 1880, receiving about ten thousand 
votes. In 1884 he was largely instrumental 
in the amendment of the constitution of 
Maine, adopted by an overwhelming popular 
vote, which forever forbade the manufacture 
or sale of any intoxicating beverages, and 
commanding the legislature to enforce the 
prohibition. He died October 2, 1897. 



ZACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Orange county, Virginia, September 24, 
1784. His boyhood was spent on his fath- 
er's plantation and his education was lim- 
ited. In 1808 he was made lieutenant of 
the Seventh Infantry, and joined his regi- 
ment at New Orleans. He was promoted 
to captain in 18 10, and commanded at Fort 
Harrison, near the present site of Terre 
Haute, in 181 2, where, for his gallant de 
fense, he was brevetted major, attaining ful 
rank in 18 14. In 1815 he retired to an es 
tate near Louisville. In 1816 here-entered 
the army as major, and was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel and then to colonel. 
Having for many years been Indian agent 
over a large portion of the western country, 
he was often required in Washington to give 
advice and counsel in matters connected 
with the Indian b jreau. He served through 
the Black Hawk ."^ndian war of 1832, and in 
1837 was ordered to the command of the 



|l 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



109 



army in Florida, where he attacked the In- 
dians in the swamps and brakes, defeated 
them and ended the war. He was brevetted 
brigadier-general and made commander-in- 
chief of the army in Florida. He was as- 
signed to the command of the army of the 
southwest in 1840, but was soon after re- 
lieved of it at his request. He was then 
stationed at posts in Arkansas. In 1845 he 
was ordered to prepare to protect and de- 
fend Texas boundaries from invasion by 
Mexicans and Indians. On the annexation 
of Texas he proceeded with one thousand 
five hundred men to Corpus Christi, within 
the disputed territory. After reinforcement 
he was ordered b\' the Mexican General Am- 
pudia to retire beyond the Nueces river, 
with which order he declined to compl}'. 
The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma followed, and he crossed the Rio 
Grande and occupied Matamoras Maj- i8th. 
He was commissioned major-general for this 
campaign, and in September he advanced 
upon the city of Monterey and captured it 
after a hard fight. Here he took up winter 
quarters, and when he was about to resume 
activity in the spring he %vas ordered to send 
the larger part of his army to reinforce 
General Scott at \'era Cruz. After leaving 
garrisons at various points his army was re- 
duced to about five thousand, mostly fresh 
recruits. He was attacked by "che army of 
Santa Anna, at Buena Vista, February 22, 
1847, and after a severe fight completely 
routed the Mexicans. He received the 
thanks of congress and a gold medal for 
this victory. He remained in command of 
the "army of occupation" until winter, 
when he returned to the United States. 

In 1848 General Taylor was nominated 
by the Whigs for president. He was elected 
over his two opponents, Cass and Van 
Buren. Great bitterness was developing in 



the struggle for and against the extension of 
slavery, and the newly acquired territor}' in 
the west, and the fact that the states were 
now equally divided on that question, tended 
to increase the feeling. President Taylor 
favored immediate admission of California 
with her constitution prohibiting slavery, 
and the admission of other states to be 
formed out of the new territory as they 
might elect as they adopted constitutions 
from time to time. This policy resulted in 
the " Omnibus Bill," which afterward passed 
congress, though in separate bills; not, how- 
ever, until after the death of the soldier- 
statesman, which occurred July 9, 1850. 
One of his daughters became the wife of 
Jefferson Davis. 



MELVILLE D. LAXDON, better known 
as " Eli Perkins, "author, lecturer and 
humorist, was born in Eaton, New York, 
September 7, 1839. He was the son of 
John Landon and grandson of Rufus Lan- 
don, a revolutionary soldier from Litchfield 
county, Connecticut. Melville was edu- 
cated at the district school and neighboring 
academy, where he was prepared for the 
sophomore class at Madison University. He 
passed two years at the latter, when he was 
admitted to Union College, and graduated 
in the class of 1861, receiving the degree of 
A. M., in 1862. He was, at once, ap- 
pointed to a position in the treasury depart- 
ment at Washington. This being about the 
time of the breaking out of the war, and 
before the appearance of any Union troops 
at the capital, he assisted in the organiza- 
tion of the " Clay Battalion," of Washing- 
ton. Leaving his clerkship some time later, 
he took up duties on the staff of General A. 
L. Chetlain, who was in command at Mem- 
phis. In 1864 he resigned from the army 
and engaged in cotton planting in Arkansas 



110 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



and Louisiana. In 1867 he went abroad, 
making the lour of Europe, traversing Rus- 
sia. While in the latter country his old 
commander of the " Clay Battalion," Gen- 
eral Cassius M. Clay, then United States 
minister at St. Petersburg, made him secre- 
j tary of legation. In 1871, on returning to 
America, he published a history of the 
Franco— Prussian war, and followed it with 
numerous humorous writings for the public 
press under the name of "Eli Perkins," 
which, with his regular contributions to the 
" Commercial Advertiser," brought him into 
notice, and spread his reputation as a hu- 
morist throughout the country. He also pub- 
lished "Saratoga in 1891," "Wit, Humor 
and Pathos," ' 'Wit and Humor of the Age," 
•' Kings of Platform and Pulpit," "Thirty 
Years of ^^'it and Humor," " Fun and Fact," 
and " China and Japan." 



LEWIS CASS, one of the most prom- 
inent statesman and .party leaders of his 
day, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, 
October 9, 1782. He studied law, and hav- 
ing removed to Zanesville, Ohio, commenced 
the practice of that profession in 1802. He 
entered the service of the American govern- 
ment in 1812 and was made a colonel in 
the army under General William Hull, and 
on the surrender of Fort Maiden by that 
officer was held as a prisoner. Being re- 
leased in 18 1 3, he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general and in 18 14 ap- 
pointed governor of Michigan Territory. 
After he had held that office for some 
sixteen years, negotiating, in the meantime, 
many treaties with the Indians, General 
Cass was made secretary of war in the cabi- 
net of President Jackson, in 1 83 1. He was, 
in 1836, appointed minister to France, 
which office he held for si.x years. In 1844 
he - as elected United States senator from 



Michigan. In 1846 General Cass opposed 
the Wilmot Proviso, which- was an amend- 
ment to a bill for the purchase of land from 
Mexico, which provided that in any of the 
territory acquired from that power slavery 
should not exist. For this and other reasons 
he was nominated as Democratic candidate 
for the presidency of the United States in 
1848, but was defeated by General Zachary 
Taylor, the Whig candidate, having but 
one hundred and thirty-seven electoral votes 
to his opponent's one hundred and sixty- 
three. In 1849 General Cass was re-elected 
to the senate of the United States, and in 
1854 supported Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska 
bill. He became secretary of state in 
March, 1857, under President Buchanan, 
but resigned that office in December, i860. 
He died June 17, 1866. The published 
works of Lewis Cass, while not numerous, 
are well written and display much ability. 
He was one of the foremost men of his day 
in the political councils of the Democratic 
party, and left a reputation for high probity 
and honor behind him. 



DE WITT CLINTON.— Probably there 
were but few men who were so popular 
in their time, or who have had so much in- 
fluence in moulding events as the individual 
whose name honors the head of this article. 
De Witt Clinton was the son of General 
James Clinton, and a nephew of Governor 
George Clinton, who was the fourth vice- 
president of the United States. He was a 
native of Orange county. New York, born at 
Little Britain, March 2, 1769. He gradu- 
ated from Columbia College, in his native 
state, in 1796, and took up the study of law. 
In 1790 he became private secretary to his 
uncle, then governor of New York. He en- 
tered public life as a Republican or anti- 
Federalist, and was elected to the lower 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Ill 



house of the state assembly in 1797, and the 
senate of that body in 1798. At that time 
he was looked on as " the most rising man 
in the Union." In 1801 he was elected to 
the United States senate. In 1803 he was 
appointed by the governor and council 
mayor of the city of New York, then a 
very important and powerful office. Hav- 
ing been re-appointed, he held the office 
of mayor for nearly eleven years, and 
rendered great service to that city. Mr. 
Clinton served as lieutenant-governor of 
the state of New York, 1811-13, and 
was one of the commissioners appointed 
to examine and survey a route for a canal 
from the Hudson river to Lake Erie. Dif- 
fering with President Madison, in relation to 
the war, in 18 12, he was nominated for the 
presidency against that gentleman, by a 
coalition party called the Clintonians, many 
of whom were Federalists. Clinton received 
eight-nine electoral votes. His course at 
this time impaired his popularity for a time. 
He was removed from the mayoralty in 
1 8 14, and retired to private life. In 18 15 
he wrote a powerful argument for the con- 
struction of the Erie canal, then a great and 
beneficent work of which he was the prin- 
cipal promoter. This was in the shape of 
a memorial to the legislature, which, in 
18 17, passed a bill authorizing the construc- 
tion of that canal. The same year he was 
elected governor of New York, almost unani- 
mously, notwithstanding the opposition of 
a few who pronounced the scheme of the 
canal visionary. He was re-elected governor 
in 1820. He was at this time, also, presi- 
dent of the canal commissioners. He de- 
clined a re-election to the gubernatorial 
chair in 1822 and was removed from his 
place on the canal board two years later. 
But he was triumphantly elected to the of- 
fice of governor that fall, and his pet project, 



the Erie canal, was finished the next year. 
He was re-elected governor in 1826, but 
died while holding that office, February 11, 
1828. 

AARON BURR, one of the many brilliani 
figures on the political stage in the early 
days of America, was born at Newark, New 
Jersey, February 6, 1756. He was the son 
of Aaron and Esther Burr, the former the 
president of the College of New Jersey, and 
the latter a daughter of Jonathan Edwards, 
who had been president of the same educa- 
tional institution. Young Burr graduated 
at Princeton in 1772. In 1775 he joined 
the provincial army at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts. For a time, he served as a private 
soldier, but later was made an aide on the 
staff of the unfortunate General Montgom- 
ery, in the Quebec expedition. Subse- 
quently he was on the staffs of Arnold, Put- 
nam and Washington, the latter of whom 
he disliked. He was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel and commanded a 
brigade on Monmouth's bloody field. In 
1779, on account of feeble health. Colonel 
Burr resigned from the army. He took up 
the practice of law in Albany, New York, 
but subsequently removed to New York City. 
In 1789 he became attorney-general of that 
state. In 1791 he was chosen to represent 
the state of New York in the United States 
senate and held that position for six years. 
In 1800 he and Thomas Jefferson were both 
candidates for the presidency, and there 
being a tie in the electoral college, each 
having seventy-three votes, the choice was 
left to congress, who gave the first place to 
Jefferson and made Aaron Burr vice-presi- 
dent, as the method then was. In 1S04 Mr. 
Burr and his great rival, Alexander Hamil- 
ton, met in a duel, which resulted in the 
death of the latter. Burr losing thereby con- 



112 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAFHT 



siderable political and social influence. He 
soon embarked in a wild attempt upon 
Mexico, and as was asserted, upon the 
southwestern territories of the United 
States. He was tried for treason at 
Richmond, Virginia, in 1807, but acquitted, 
and to avoid importunate creditors, fled to 
Europe. After a time, in 18 12, he returned 
to New York, where he practiced law, and 
where he died, September 14, 1836. A man 
of great abilit}', brilliant and popular talents, 
his influence was destroyed by his unscrupu- 
lous political actions and immoral private 
life. 

ALBERT GALLATIN, one of the most 
distinguished statesmen of the early 
days of the republic, was born at Geneva, 
Switzerland, January 29, 1761. He was 
thesonof Jean de Gallatin and Sophia A. 
Rolaz du Rosey Gallatin, representatives of 
an old patrician family. Albert Gallatin 
was left an orphan at an early age, and was 
educated under the care of friends of his 
parents. He graduated from the University 
of Geneva in 1779, and declining employ- 
ment under one of the sovereigns of Ger- 
many, came to the struggling colonies, land- 
ing in Boston July 14, 1780. Shortly after 
his arrival he proceeded to Maine, where he 
served as a volunteer under Colonel Allen. 
He made advances to the government for 
. the support of the American troops, and in 
November, 1780, was placed in command 
of a small fort at Passamaquoddy, defended 
by a force of militia, volunteers and Indians. 
In 1783 he was professor of the French 
language at Harvard University. A year 
later, having received his patrimony from 
Europe, he purchased large tracts of land 
in western Virginia, but was prevented by 
the Indians from forming the large settle- 
ment he proposed, and, in 1786, purchased 



a farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 
In 1789 he was a member of the convention 
to amend the constitution of that state, and 
united himself with the Republican party, 
the head of which was Thomas Jefferson. 
The following year he was elected to the 
legislature of Pennsylvania, to which he was 
subsequently re-elected. In 1793 he was 
elected to the United States senate, but 
could not take his seat on account of not 
having been a citizen long enough. In 1794 
Mr. Gallatin was elected to the representa- 
tive branch of congress, in which he served 
three terms. He also took an important 
position in the suppression of the "whiskey 
insurrection." In 1801, on the accession of 
Jefferson to the presidency, Mr. Gallatin 
was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
In 1809 Mr. Madison offered him the posi- 
tion of secretary of state, but he declined, 
and continued at the head of the treasury 
until 1812, a period of twelve years. He 
exercised a great influence on the other de- 
partments and in the general administration, 
especially in the matter of financial reform, 
and recommended measures for ta.xation, 
etc., which were passed by congress, and be- 
came laws May 24, 1 8 1 3. The same year he 
was sent as an envoy extraordinary to Rus- 
sia, which had offered to mediate between 
this country and Great Britain, but the lat- 
ter country refusing the interposition of 
another power, and agreeing to treat di- 
rectly with the United States, in 18 14, at 
Ghent, Mr. Gallatin, in connection with his 
distinguished colleagues, negotiated and 
signed the treaty of peace. In 181 5, in 
conjunction with Messrs. Adams and Clay, 
he signed, at London, a commercial treaty 
between the two countries. In 18 16, de- 
clining his old post at the head of the treas- 
ury, Mr. Gallatin was sent as minister ta 
France, wliire he remained until 1S23. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIT. 



118 



After a year spent in England as envoy ex- 
traordinary, lie took up his residence in New 
York, and from that time held no public 
office. In 1 8 30 he was chosen president of 
the council of the University of New York. 
He was, in 1831, made president of the 
National bank, which position he resigned 
in 1839. He died August 12, 1849. 



M 



ILLARD FILLMORE, the thirteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born of New England parentage in Summer 
Hill, Cayuga county. New York, January 7, 
1800. His school education was very lim- 
ited, but he occupied his leisure hours in 
study. He worked in youth upon his fa- 
ther's farm in his native county, and at the 
age of fifteen was apprenticed to a wool 
carder and cloth dresser. Four years later 
he was induced by Judge Wood to enter his 
office at Montviile, New York, and take up 
the study of law. This warm friend, find- 
ing young Fillmore destitute of means, 
loaned him money, but the latter, not wish- 
ing to incur a heavy debt, taught school 
during part of the time and in this and other 
ways helped maintain himself. In 1822 he 
removed to Buffalo, New York, and the year 
following, being admitted to the bar, he 
commenced the practice of his profession 
at East Aurora, in the same state. Here 
he remained until 1830, having, in the 
meantime, been admitted to practice in the 
supreme court, when he returned to Buffalo, 
where he became the partner of S. G. 
Haven and N. K. Hall. He entered poli- 
tics and served in the state legislature from 
1829 to 1832. He was in congress in 1833- 
35 and in 1837-41, where he proved an 
active and useful member, favoring the 
views of John Quincy Adams, then battling 
almost alone the slave-holding party in na- 
tional politics, and in most 01 public ques- 



tions acted with the Whig party. While 
chairman of the committee of ways and 
means he took a leading part in draughting 
the tariff bill of 1842. In 1844 Mr. Fill- 
more was the Whig candidate for governor 
of 'New York. In 1S47 he was chosen 
comptroller of the state, and abandoning 
his practice and profession removed to Al- 
bany. In 1848 he was elected vice presi- 
dent on the ticket with General Zachary 
Taylor, and they were inaugurated the fol- 
lowing March. On the death of the presi- 
dent, July 9, 1850, Mr. Fillmore was in- 
ducted into that office. The great events 
of his administration were the passage of 
the famous compromise acts of 1850, and 
the sending out of the Japan expedition of 
1852. 

March 4, 1853, having served one term, 
President Fillmore retired from ofifice, and 
in 1855 went to Europe, where he received 
marked attention. On returning home, in 
1856, he was nominated for the presidency 
by the Native American or " Know-Noth- 
ing" party, but was defeated, James Buch- 
anan being the successful candidate. 

Mr. Fillmore ever afterward lived in re- 
tirement. During the conflict of Civil war 
he was mostly silent. It was generally sup- 
posed, however, that his sympathy was with 
the southern confederacy. He kept aloof 
from the conflict without any words of cheer 
to the one party or the other. For this rea- 
son he was forgotten by both. He died of 
paralysis, in Buffalo, New York, March 8, 
1874- 

PETER F. ROTHERMEL, one of Amer- 
ica's greatest and best-known historical 
painters, was born in Luzerne county, Penn- 
sylvania, July 8, 1817, and was of Gferman 
ancestry. He received his earlier education 
in his native county, and in Philadelphia 



114 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



learned the profession of land surveying. 
But a strong bias toward art drew him away 
and he soon opened a studio where he did 
portrait painting. This soon gave place to 
historical painting, he having discovered the 
bent of his genius in that direction. Be- 
sides the two pictures in the Capitol at 
Washington — "DeSoto Discovering the Mis- 
sissippi" and "Patrick Henry Before the 
Virginia House of Burgesses" — Rothermel 
painted many others, chief among which 
are: "Columbus Before Queen Isabella," 
" Martjrs of the Colosseum," "Cromwell 
Breaking Up Service in an English Church, " 
and the famous picture of the "Battle 
of Gettysburg." The last named was 
painted for the state of Pennsylvania, for 
which Rothermel received the sum of $25,- 
000, and which it took him four years to 
plan and to paint. It represents the portion 
of that historic field held by the First corps, 
an e.xclusively Pennsylvania body of men, 
and was selected by Rothermel for that 
reason. For many years most of his time 
was spent in Italy, only returning for short 
periods. He died at Philadelphia, August 
16, 1895. 

EDMUND KIRBY SMITH, one of the 
distinguished leaders upon the side of the 
south in the late Civil war, was born at St. 
Augustine, Florida, in 1824. After receiv- 
ing the usual education he was appointed to 
the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated in 1845 and 
entered the army as second lieutenant of 
infantry. During the Mexican war he was 
made first lieutenant and captain for gallant 
conduct at Cerro Gordo and Contreras. 
From 1849 to 1852 he was assistant pro- 
fessor of mathematics at West Point. He 
was transferred to the Second cavalry with 
the rank of captain in 1855, served on the 



frontier, and was wounded in a fight with 
Comanche Indians in Texas, May 13, 1859. 
In January, 1861, he became major of his 
regiment, but resigned April 9th to fol- 
low the fortunes of the southern cause. 
He was appointed brigadier-general in the 
Confederate army and served in Virginia. 
At the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, 
he arrived on the field late in the day, but 
was soon disabled by a wound. He was 
made major-general in 1862, and being trans- 
ferred to East Tennessee, was given com- 
mand of that department. Under General 
Braxton Bragg he led the advance in the 
invasion of Kentucky and defeated the Union 
forces at Richmond, Kentucky, August 30, 

1862, and advanced to Frankfort. Pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, he 
was engaged at the battle of Perryville, 
October 10, and in the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, December 31, 1862, and January 3, 

1863. He was soon made general, the 
highest rank in the service, and in com- 
mand of the trans-Mississippi department 
opposed General N. P. Banks in the famous 
Red River expedition, taking part in the 
battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1864, and 
other engagements of that eventful cam- 
paign. He was the last to surrender the 
forces under his command, which he did 
May 26, 1865. After the close of the war 
he located in Tennessee, where he died 
March 28, 1893. 



J 



OHN JAMES INGALLS, a famous 
American statesman, was born Decem- 



ber 29, 1833, at Middleton, Massachusetts, » 
where he was reared and received his early 
education. He went to Kansas in 1858 
and joined the free-soil army, and a year , 
after his arrival he was a member of the his- j 
torical Wyandotte convention, which drafted | ■ 
a free-state constitution. In i860 he was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



\\h 



made secretary of the territorial council, 
and in 1861 was secretary of the state sen- 
ate. The next year he was duly elected to 
the legitimate state senate from Atchison, 
where he had made his home. From that 
time he was the leader of the radical Re- 
publican element in ihe state. He became 
the editor of the "Atchison Champion " in 
1863, which was a "red-hot free-soil Re- 
publican organ." In 1862 he was the anti- 
Lane candidate for lieutenant-governor, but 
was defeated. He was elected to the Unit- 
ed States senate to succeed Senator Pom- 
eroy, and took his seat in the forty-third 
congress and served until the fiftieth. In 
the forty-ninth congress he succeeded Sen- 
ator Sherman as president pro tem., which 
position he held through the fiftieth con- 
gress. 

BENJAMIN WEST, the greatest of the 
early American painters, was of Eng- 
lish descent and Quaker parentage. He was 
born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738. 
From what source he inherited his genius it 
is hard to imagine, since the tenets and 
tendencies of the Quaker faith were not cal- 
culated to encourage the genius of art, but 
at the age of nine years, with no suggestion 
except that of inspiration, we find him choos- 
ing his model from life, and laboring over 
his first work calculated to attract public 
notice. It was a representation of a sleep- 
ing child in its cradle. The brush with 
which he painted it was made of hairs 
which he plucked from the cat's tail, and 
the colors were obtained from the war paints 
of friendly Indians, his mother's indigo bag, 
and ground chalk and charcoal, and the juice 
of berries, but there were touches in the rude 
production that he declared in later days 
were a credit to his best works. The pic- 
ture attracted notice, for a council was 



called at once to pass upon the boy's con- 
duct in thus infringing the laws of the so- 
ciety. There were judges among them who 
saw in his genius a rare gift and their wis- 
dom prevailed, and the child was given per- 
mission to follow his inclination. He studied 
under a painter named Williams, and then 
spent some years as a portrait painter with 
advancing success. At the age of twenty- 
two he went to Italy, and not until he had 
perfected himself by twenty-three years of 
labor in that paradise of art was he satisfied 
to turn his face toward home. However, he 
stopped at London, and decided to settle 
there, sending to America for his intended 
bride to join him. Though the Revolution- 
ary war was raging, King George III showed 
the American artist the highest considera- 
tion and regard. His remuneration from 
works for royalty amounted to five thou- 
sand dollars per year for thirty years. 

West's best known work in America is, 
perhaps, " The Death of General Wolf." 
West was one of the thirty-six original mem- 
bers of the Royal academy and succeeded 
Joshua Reynolds as president, which posi- 
tion he held until his death. His early 
works were his best, as he ceased to display 
originality in his later life, conventionality 
having seriously affected his efforts. He 
died in 1820. 



SAMUEL PORTER JONES, the famous 
Georgia evangelist, was born October 
16, 1847, in Chambers county, Alabama. 
He did not attend school regularly during 
his boyhood, but worked on a farm, and 
went to school at intervals, on account of 
ill health. His father removed to Carters- 
ville, Georgia, when Mr. Jones was a small 
boy. He quit school at the age of nineteen 
and never attended college. The war inter- 
fered with his education, which was intended 



116 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



to prepare him for the legal profession. 
After the war he renewed his preparation 
for college, but was compelled to desist from 
such a course, as his health failed him en- 
tirely. Later on, however, he still pursued 
his legal studies and was admitted to the 
bar. Soon after this event he went to Dal- 
las, Paulding county, Georgia, where he was 
engaged in the practice of his profession, 
and in a few months removed to Cherokee 
county, Alabama, where he taught school. 
In 1869 he returned tdCartersville, Georgia, 
and arrived in time to see his father die. 
Immediately after this event he applied for 
a license to preach, and went to Atlanta, 
Georgia, to the meeting of the North Geor- 
gia Conference of the M. E. church south, 
which received him on trial. He became 
an evangelist of great note, and traveled 
extensively, delivering his sermons in an 
inimitable style that made him very popular 
with the masses, his methods of conducting 
revivals being unique and original and his 
preaching practical and incisive. 



SHELBV MOORE CULLOM, a national 
character in political affairs and for 
many years United States senator from 
Illinois, was born November 22, 1829, at 
Monticello, Kentucky. He came with his 
parents to Illinois in 1830 and spent his early 
yearsonafarni, but having formed the purpose 
of devoting himself to the lawyer's profession 
he spent two years study at the Rock River 
seminary at Mount Morris, Illinois. In 1853 
Mr. Cullom entered the law office of Stuart 
and Edwards at Springfield, Illinois, and two 
years later he began the independent prac- 
tice of law in that city. He took an active 
interest in politics and was soon elected city 
attorney of Springfield. In 1856 he was 
elected a member of the Illinois house of 
representatives. He identified himself with 



the newly formed Republican party and in 
i860 was re-elected to the legislature of his 
state, in which he was chosen speaker of the 
house. In 1862 President Lincoln appoint- 
ed a commission to pass upon and examine 
the accounts of the United States quarter- 
masters and disbursing officers, composed 
as follows: Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois: 
Charles A. Dana, of New York, and 
Gov. Boutwell, of Massachusetts. Mr. 
Cullom was nominated for congress in 
1864, and was elected by a majority of 
1,785. In the house of representatives he 
became an active and aggressive member, 
was chairman of the committee on territories 
and served in congress until 1868. Mr. 
Cullom was returned to the state legislature, 
of which he was chosen speaker in 1872, 
and was re-elected in 1874. In 1876 he 
was elected governor of Illinois and at the 
end of his term he was chosen for a second 
term. He was elected United States senator 
in 1883 and twice re-elected. 



RICHARD JORDAN CATLING, an 
American inventor of much note, was 
born in Hertford county, North Carolina. 
September 12, 181 8. At an early age he 
gave promise of an inventive genius. The 
first emanation from his mind was the 
invention of a screv.' for the propulsion 01 
water craft, but nn application for a 
patent, found that he was forestalled but 
a short time by John Ericsson. Subse- 
quently he invented a machine for sowing 
wheat in drills, which was used to a great 
extent throughout the west. He then stud- 
ied medicine, and in 1847-8 attended 
lectures at the Indiana Medical College 
at Laporte, and in 1848-9 at the Ohio 
Medical College at Cincinnati. He later 
discovered a method of transmitting power 
through the medium of compressed air. A 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



no- 



double-acting hemp break was also invented 
by him. The invention, however, by which 
Dr. Gatling became best known was the 
famous machine gun which bears his name. 
This he brought to light in 1S61-62, and on 
the first trial of it, in the spring of the latter 
year, two hundred shots per minute were 
fired from it. After making some improve- 
ments which increased its efficiency, it was 
submitted to severe trials by our govern- 
ment at the arsenals at Frankfort, Wash- 
ington and Fortress Monroe, and at other 
points. The gun was finally adopted by 
our government, as well as by that of Great 
Britain, Russia and others. 



BENJAMIN RYAN TILLMAN, who won 
a national fame in politics, was born 
August II, 1847, in Edgefield county. South 
Carolina. He received his education in the 
Oldfield school, where he acquired the 
rudiments of Latin and Greek, in addition 
to a good English education. He left school 
in 1864 to join the Confederate army, but 
was prevented from doing so by a severe 
illness, which resulted in the loss of an eye. 
In 1867 he removed to Florida, but returned 
in 1 868, when he was married and devcted 
himself to farming. He was chairman of 
the Democratic organization of his county, 
but except a few occasional services he took 
no active part in politics then. Gradually, 
however, his attention was directed to the 
depressed condition of the farming interests 
of his state, and in August, 1885, before a 
joint meeting of tbe agricultural society and 
state grange at Bennettsville, he made a 
speech in which he set forth the cause of 
agricultural depression and urged measures 
of relief. From his active interest in the 
farming class he was styled the " Agricult- 
ural Moses." He advocated an industrial 

school for women and for a separate agri- 
7 



cultural college, and in 1887 he secured a 
modification in the final draft of the will of 
Thomas G. Clemson, which resulted in the 
erection of the Clemson Agricultural Col- 
lege at Fort Hill. In 1890 he was chosen 
governor on the Democratic ticket, and 
carried the election by a large majority. 
Governor Tillman was inaugurated Decem- 
ber 4, 1890. Mr. Tillman was next elected 
to the United States senate from South 
Carolina, and gained a national reputation 
by his fervid oratory. 



GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.— 
No journalist of America was so cele- 
brated in his time for the wit, spice, and 
vigor of his writing, as the gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch. From Atlantic to 
Pacific he was well known by his witticism 
as well as by strength and force of his edi- 
torials. He was a native of Preston, Con- 
necticut, born December 18, 1802. After 
laying the foundation of a liberal education 
in his youth, he entered Brown University, 
from which he was graduated in 1823. Tak- 
ing up the study of law, he was admitted to 
the bar in 1829. During part of his time 
he was editor of the " New England Weekly 
Review," a position which he relinquished 
to go south and was succeeded by John 
Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet. 

On arriving in Louisville, whither he 
had gone to gather items for his history of 
Henry Clay, Mr. Prentice became identified 
with the " Louisville Journal," which, under 
his hands, became one of the leading Whig 
newspapers of the country. At the head of 
this he remained until the day of his death. 
This latter event occurred January 22, 1870, 
and he was succeeded in the control of the 
" J"Durnal " by Colonel Henry Watterson. 

Mr. Prentice was an author of consider- 
able celebrity, chief among his works being 



120 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



"The Life of Henry Clay," and " Prentice- 
ana," a collection of wit and humor, that 
passed through several large editions. 



SAM. HOUSTON, in the opinion of some 
critics one of the most remarkable men 
who ever figured in American history, was a 
native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, born 
March 2, 1793. Early in life he was left in 
destitute circumstances by the death of his 
father, and, with his mother, removed to 
Tennessee, then almost a boundless wilder- 
ness. He received but little education, 
spending the most of his time among the 
Cherokee Indians. Part of the time of his 
residence there Houston acted as clerk for a 
trader and also taught one of the primitive 
schools of the day. In 181 3 he enlisted as 
private in the United States army and was 
engaged under General Jackson in the war 
with the Creek Indians. When peace was 
made Houston was a lieutenant, but he re- 
signed his commission and commenced the 
study of law at Nashville. After holding 
some minor offices he was elected member 
of congress from Tennessee. This was in 
1823. He retained this office until 1827, 
when he was chosen governor of the state. 
In 1829, resigning that office before the ex- 
piration of his term, Sam Houston removed 
to Arkansas, and made his home among the 
Cherokees, becoming the agent of that 
tribe and representing their interests at 
Washington. On a visit to Texas, just 
prior to the election of delegates to a con- 
vention called for the purpose of drawing 
up a constitution previous to the admission 
of the state into the Mexican union, he was 
unanimously chosen a delegate. The con- 
vention framed the constitution, but, it be- 
ing rejected by the government of Mexico, 
and the petition for admission to the Con- 
federacy denied and the Texans told by the 



president of the Mexican union to give up 
their arms, bred trouble. It was determined 
to resist this demand. A military force was 
soon organized, with General Houston at 
the head of it. War was prosecuted with 
great vigor, and with varying success, but 
at the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, 
the Mexicans were defeated and their leader 
and president, Santa Anna, captured. Texas 
was then proclaimed an independent repub- 
lic, and in October of the same year Hous- 
ton was inaugurated president. On the ad- 
mission of Texas to the Federal Union, in 
1845, Houston was elected senator, and 
held that position for twelve years. Oppos- 
ing the idea of secession, he retired from 
political life in 1861, and died at Hunts- 
ville, Texas, July 25, 1863. 



ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the cot- 
ton-gin, was born in Westborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, December 8, 1765. After his 
graduation from Yale College, he went to 
Georgia, where he studied law, and lived 
with the family of the widow of General 
Nathaniel Greene. At that time the only 
way known to separate the cotton seed from 
the fiber was by hand, making it extremely 
slow and expensive, and for this reason cot- 
ton was little cultivated in this country. 
Mrs. Greene urged the inventive Whitney 
to devise some means for accomplishing 
this work by machinery. This he finally 
succeeded in doing, but he was harassed by 
attempts to defraud him by those who had 
stolen his ideas. He at last formed a part- 
nership with a man named Miller, and they 
began the manufacture of the machines at 
Washington, Georgia, in 1795. The suc- 
cess of his invention was immediate, and the 
legislature of South Carolina voted the sum 
of $50,000 for his idea. This sum he had 
great difficulty in collecting, after years of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



121 



litigation and delay. North Carolina al- 
lowed him a royalty, and the same was 
agreed to by Tennessee, but was never paid. 

While his fame rests upon the invention 
of the cotton-gin, his fortune came from his 
improvements in the manufacture and con- 
struction of firearms. In 1798 the United 
States government gave him a contract for 
this purpose, and he accumulated a fortune 
from it. The town of Whitneyville, Con- 
necticut, was founded by this fortune. 
Whitney died at New Haven, Connecticut, 
January 8, 1825. 

The cotton-gin made the cultivation of 
cotton profitable, and this led to rapid in- 
troduction of slavery in the south. His in- 
vention thus affected our national history in 
a manner little dreamed of by the inventor. 



LESTER WALLACK (John Lester Wal- 
lack), for many years the leading light 
comedian upon the American stage, was 
the son of James W. Wallack, the " Brum- 
mell of the Stage." Both father and son 
were noted for their comeliness of feature 
and form. Lester Wallack was born in 
New York, January i, 18 19. He received 
his education in England, and made his first 
appearance on the stage in 1848 at the New 
Broadway theater. New York. He acted 
light comedy parts, and also occasion- 
ally in romantic plays like Monte Cristo, 
which play made him his fame. He went 
to England and played under management 
of such men as Hamblin and Burton, and then 
returned to New York with his father, who 
opened the first Wallack's theater, at the 
corner of Broome and Broadway, in 1852. 
The location was afterward changed to 
Thirteenth and Broadway, in 1861, and 
later to its present location, Broadway and 
Thirteenth, in 1882. The elder Wallack 
died in 1864, after which Lester assumed 



management, jointly with Theodore Moss. 
Lester Wallack was commissioned in the 
queen's service while' in England, and there 
he also married a sister to the famous artist, 
the late John Everett Millais. While Les- 
ter Wallack never played in the interior 
cities, his name was as familiar to the public 
as that of our greatest stars. He died Sep- 
tember 6, 1888, at Stamford, Connecticut. 



GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN, 
the palace car magnate, inventor, 
multi-millionaire and manufacturer, may 
well be classed among the remarkable 
self-made men of the century. He was 
born March 3, 1 831, in Chautauqua county, 
New York. His parents were poor, and 
his education was limited to what he could 
learn of the rudimentary branches in the 
district school. At the age of fourteen he 
went to work as clerk for a country mer- 
chant. He kept this place three years, 
studying at night. When seventeen he 
went to Albion, New York, and worked for 
his brother, who kept a cabinet shop there. 
Five years later he went into business for 
himself as contractor for moving buildings 
along the line of the Erie canal, which was 
then being widened by the state, and was 
successful in thii. In 1858 he removed to 
Chicago and engaged in the business of 
moving and raising houses. The work was 
novel there then and he was quite success- 
ful. About this time the discomfort attend- 
ant on traveling at night attracted his at- 
tention. He reasoned that the public would 
gladly pay for comfortable sleeping accom- 
modations. A few sleeping cars were in 
use at that time, but they were wretchedly 
crude, uncomtortable affairs. In 1859 he 
bought two old day coaches from the Chi- 
cago & Alton road and remodeled them some- 
thing like the general plan of the sleepinp- 



122 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



cars of the present day. They were put 
into service on the Chicago & Alton and 
became popular at once. In 1863 he built 
the first sleeping-car resembling the Pullman 
cars of to-day. It cost $18,000 and was 
the " Pioneer." After that the Pullman 
Palace Car Company prospered. It had 
shops at different cities. In 1880 the Town 
of Pullman was founded by Mr. Pullman 
and his company, and this model manufac- 
turing community is known all over the 
world. Mr. Pullman died October 19, 1897. 



JAMES E. B. STUART, the most famous 
cavalr}' leader of the Southern Confed- 
eracy during the Civil war, was born in 
Patrick county, Virginia, in 1833. On 
graduating from the United States Military 
Academy, West Point, in 1854, he was as- 
signed, as second lieutenant, to a regiment 
of mounted rifles, receiving his commission 
in October. In March, 1855, he was trans- 
ferred to the newly organized First cavalry, 
and was promoted to first lieutenant the 
following December, and to captain April 
22, 1 86 1. Taking the side of the south, 
May 14, 1861, he was made colonel of a 
Virginia cavalry regiment, and served as 
such at Bull Run. In September, 1861, he 
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-gen- 
eral, and major-general early in 1862. On 
the reorganization of the Army of Northern 
Virgmia, in June of the latter year, when 
R. E. Lee assumed command. General Stu- 
art made a reconnoissance with one thou- 
sand five hundred cavalry and four guns, 
and in two days made the circuit of McCIel- 
lan's army, producing much confusion and 
gathering useful information, and losing but 
one man. August 25, 1862, he captured 
part of Pope's headquarters' train, including 
that general's private baggage and official 
correspondence, and the next night, in a 



descent upon Manasses, capturing immense 
quantities of commissary and quartermaster 
store, eight guns, a number of locomotives 
and a few hundred prisoners. During the 
invasion of Maryland, in September, 1862, 
General Stuart acted as rearguard, resisting 
the advance of the Federal cavalry at South 
Mountain, and at Antietam commanded the 
Confederate left. Shortly after he crossed 
the Potomac, making a raid as far as Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsylvania. In the battle of 
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Gen- 
eral Stuart's command was on the extreme 
right of the Confederate line. At Chancel- 
lorsville, after "Stonewall " Jackson's death 
and the wounding of General A. P. Hill, 
General Stuart assumed command of Jack- 
son's corps, which he led in the severe con- 
test of May 3, 1863. Early in June, the 
same year, a large force of cavalry was 
gathered under Stuart, at Culpepper, Vir- 
ginia, which, advancing to join General Lee 
in his invasion of Pennsylvania, was met at 
Brandy Station, by two divisions of cavalry 
and two brigades of infantry, under General 
John I. Gregg, and driven back. During the 
movements of the Gettysburg campaign he 
rendered important services. In May, 1864, 
General Stuart succeeded, by a detour, in 
placing himself between Richmond and 
Sheridan's advancing column, and at Yellow 
Tavern was attacked in force. During the 
fierce conflict that ensued General Stuart 
was mortally wounded, and died at Rich- 
mond, May 1 1, 1864. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth 
president of the United States — from 
1853 until 1857— was born November 23, 
1804, at Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He 
came of old revolutionary stock and his 
father was a governor of the state. Mr. 
Pierce entered Bowdoin College in 1820, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



128 



was graduated in 1824, and took up the 
study of law in the office of Judge Wood- 
bury, and later he was admitted to the bar. 
Mr. Pierce practiced his profession with 
varying successes in his native town and 
also in Concord. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1833 and served in that 
body until 1837, the last two years of his 
term serving as speaker of the house. He 
was elected to the United States senate in 
1837, just as President Van Buren began 
his term of office. Mr. Pierce served until 
1842, and many times during Polk's term he 
declined important public offices. During 
the war with Mexico Mr. Pierce was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general, and he embarked 
with a portion of his troops at Newport, 
Rhode Island, May 27, 1847, and went with 
them to the field of battle. He served 
through the war and distinguished himself 
by his skill, bravery and excellent judg- 
ment. When he reached his home in his 
native state he was received coldly by the 
opponents of the war, but the advocates of 
the war made up for his cold reception by 
the enthusiastic welcome which they ac- 
corded him. Mr. Pierce resumed the prac- 
tice of his profession, and in the political 
strife that followed he gave his support to 
the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic 
party. The Democratic convention met in 
Baltimore, June 12, 1852, to nominate a 
candidate for tlie presidency, and they con- 
tinued in session four days, and in thirty- 
five ballotings no one had secured the re- 
quisite two-thirds vote. Mr. Pierce had not 
received a vote as yet, until the Virginia 
delegation brought his name forward, and 
finally on the forty-ninth ballot Mr. Pierce 
received 282 votes and all the other candi- 
dates ele.ven. His opponent on the Whig 
ticket was General Winfield Scott, who 
only received the electoral votes of four 



states. Mr. Pierce was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the United States March 4, 1853, 
with W. R. King as vice president, and the 
following named gentlemen were afterward 
chosen to fill the positions in the cabinet: 
William S. Marcy, James Guthrie, Jeffer- 
son Davis, James C. Dobbin, Robert Mc- 
Clelland, James Campbell and Caleb Gush- 
ing. During the administration of President 
Pierce the Missouri compromise law was 
repealed, and all the territories of the Union 
were thrown open to slavery, and the dis- 
turbances in Kansas occurred. In 1857 he 
was succeeded in the presidency by James 
Buchanan, and retired to his home in Con- 
cord, New Hampshire. He always cherished 
his principles of slavery, and at the out- 
break of the rebellion he was an adherent of 
the cause of the Confederacy. He died at 
Concord, New Hampshire, October 8, 1869. 



JAMES B. WEAVER, well known as a 
leader of the Greenback and later of the 
Populist party, was born at Dayton, Ohio, 
June 12, 1833. He received his earlier 
education in the schools of his native town, 
and entered the law department of the Ohio 
University, at Cincinnati, from which he 
graduated in 1854. Removing to the grow- 
ing state of Iowa, he became connected 
with "The Iowa Tribune," at the state 
capital, Des Moines, as one of its editors. 
He afterward practiced law and was elected 
district attorney for the second judicial dis- 
trict of Iowa, on the Republican ticket in 
1866, which office he held for a short time. 
In 1867 Mr. Weaver was appointed assessor 
of internal revenue for the first district of 
Iowa, and filled that position until some- 
time in 1873. He was elected and served 
in the forty-sixth congress. In 1880 the 
National or Greenback party in convention 
at Chicago, nominated James B. Weaver as 



124 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH7. 



its candidate for -the presidency. By a 
union of tiie Democratic and National 
parties in his district, he was elected to the 
forty-ninth congress, and re-elected to the 
same office in the fall of 1886. Mr. Weaver 
was conceded to be a very fluent speaker, 
and quite active in all political work. On 
July 4, 1892, at the National convention 
of the People's party. General James B. 
Weaver was chosen as the candidate for 
president of that organization, and during 
the campaign that followed, gained a na- 
tional reputation. 



ANTHONY JOSEPH DREXEL, one 
of the leading bankers and financiers of 
the United States, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 1826, and was the son of 
Francis M. Drexel, who had established 
the large banking institution of Drexel & 
Co., so well known. The latter was a native 
of Dornbirn, in the Austrian Tyrol. He 
studied languages and fine arts at Turin, 
Italy. On returning to his mountain home, 
in 1809, and finding it in the hands of the 
French, he went to Switzerland and later 
to Paris. In 18 12, after a short visit home, 
he went to Berlin, where he studied paint- 
ing until 1817, in which year he emigrated 
to America, and settled in Philadelphia. A 
few years later he went to Chili and Peru, 
where he executed some fine portraits of 
notable people, including General Simon 
Bolivar. After spending some time in Mex- 
ico, he returned to Philadelphia, and en- 
gaged in the banking business. In 1837 he 
founded the house of Drexel & Co. He 
died in 1837, and was succeeded by his two 
sons, Anthony J. and Francis A. His son, 
Anthony J. Drexel, Jr., entered the bank 
when he was thirteen years of age, before he 
was through with his schooling, and after 
that the history of the banking business of 



which he was the head, was the history of his 
life. The New York house of Drexel, Mor- 
gan & Co. was established in 185O; the 
Paris house, Drexel, Harjes & Co., in 1867. 
The Drexel banking houses have supplied 
iand placed hundreds of millions of dollars 
n government, corporation, railroad and 
other loans and securities. The reputation 
of the houses has always been held on the 
highest plane. Mr. Drexel founded and 
heavily endowed the Drexel Institute, in 
Philadelphia, an institution to furnish better 
and wider avenues of employment to young 
people of both sexes. It has departments 
of arts, science, mechanical arts and domes- 
tic economy. Mr. Drexel, Jr., departed this 
life June 30, 1893. 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE, 
inventor of the recording telegraph in- 
strument, was born in Charlestown, Massa- 
chusetts, April 27, 1791. He graduated 
from Yale College in 18 10, and took up art 
as his profession. He went to London with 
the great American painter, Washington 
Allston, and studied in the Royal Academy 
under Benjamin West. His "Dying Her- 
cules," his first effort in sculpture, took the 
gold medal in 18 13. He returned to Amer- 
ica in 181 5 and continued to pursue his 
profession. He was greatly interested in 
scientific studies, which he carried on in 
connection with other labors. He founded 
the National Academy of Design and was 
many years its president. He returned to 
Europe and spent three years in study 
in the art centers, Rome, Florence, Venice 
and Paris. In 1832 he returned to America 
and while on the return voyage the idea of 
a recording telegraph apparatus occurred to 
him, and he made a drawing to represent his 
conception. He was the first to occupy the 
chair of fine arts in the University of New 



COMrEXDIC'M OF BIOGRAPHT. 



125 



York City, and in 1835 he set up his rude 
instrument in his room in the university. 
But it was not until after many years of 
discouragement and reverses of fortune that 
lie finally was successful in placing his inven- 
tion before the public. In 1844, by aid of 
the United States government, he had con- 
structed a telegraph line forty miles in length 
from Washington to Baltimore. Over this 
line the test was made, and the first tele- 
f;raphic message was flashed May 24, 1844, 
from the United States supreme court rooms 
to Baltimore. It read, "What hath God 
wrought!" His fame and fortune were es- 
tablished in an instant. Wealth and honors 
poured in upon him from that day. The 
nations of Europe vied with each other 
in honoring the great inventor with medals, 
titles and decorations, and the learned 
societies of Europe hastened to enroll his 
name upon their membership lists and confer 
degrees. In 1858 he was the recipient of an 
honor never accorded to an inventor before. 
The ten leading nations of Europe, at the 
suggestion of the Emporer Napoleon, ap- 
pointed representatives to an international 
congress, which convened at Paris for the 
special purpose of expressing gratitude of the 
nations, and they voted him a present of 
400,000 francs. 

Professor Morse was present at the unveil- 
ing of a bronze statue erected in his honor in 
Central Park, New York, in 1871. His last 
appearance in public was at the unveiling 
of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in New 
York in 1872, when he made the dedica- 
tory speech and unveiled the statue. He 
died April 2, 1872, in the city of New York. 



MORRIS( 
chief ji 



:iSON REMICH W^AITE, seventh 

justice of the United States, was 
born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29, 
1816. He was a graduate from Yale Col- 



lege in 1837, in the class with M'^illiam M. 
Evarts. His father was judge of the su- 
preme court of errors of the state of Con- 
necticut, and in his office young Waite 
studied law. He subsequently removed to 
Ohio, and was elected to the legislature of 
that state in 1849. He removed from 
Maumee City to Toledo and became a prom- 
inent legal light in that state. He was 
nominated as a candidate for congress re- 
peatedly but declined to run, and also de- 
clined a place on the supreme bench of the 
state. He won great distinction for his able 
handling of the Alabama claims at Geneva, 
before the arbitration tribunal in 1S71, and 
was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court of the United States in 1874 on the 
death of Judge Chase. When, in 1876, elec- 
toral commissioners were chosen to decide 
the presidential election controversy between 
Tilden and Hayes, Judge Waite refused to 
serve on that commission. 

His death occurred March 23, 1888. 



ELISHA KENT KANE was one of the 
distinguished American explorers of the 
unknown regions of the frozen north, and 
gave to the world a more accurate knowl- 
edge of the Arctic zone. Dr. Kane was 
born February 3, 1820, at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of the 
universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania, 
and took his medical degree in 1843. He 
entered the service of the United States 
navy, and was physician to the Chinese 
embassy. Dr. Kane traveled extensively 
in the Levant, Asia and Western Africa, 
and also served in the Mexican war, in 
which he was severely wounded. His 
first Arctic expedition was under De Haven 
in the first Griiinell expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin in 1850. He com- 
manded the second Grinnell expedition 



126 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



in 1853-55, and discovered an open polar 
sea. For this expedition he received a gold 
medal and other distinctions. He published 
a narrative of his first polar expedition in 
1853, and in 1856 published two volumes 
relating to his second polar expedition. He 
was a man of active, enterprising and cour- 
ageous spirit. His health, which was al- 
ways delicate, was impaired by the hard- 
ships of his Arctic expeditions, from which 
he never fully recovered and from which he 
died February 16, 1857, at Havana. 



ELIZABETH CADY STANTON was a 
daughter of Judge Daniel Cady and 
Margaret Livingston, and was born Novem- 
5>er 12, 181 5, at Johnstown, New York. She 
was educated at the Johnstown Academy, 
i^'here she studied with a class of boys, and 
was fitted for college at the age of fifteen, 
tifter which she pursued her studies at Mrs. 
Willard's Seminary, at Troy. Her atten- 
tion was called to the disabilities of her sex 
by her own educational experiences, and 
through a study of Blackstone, Story, and 
Kent. Miss Cady was married to Henry B. 
Stanton in 1840, and accompanied him to 
the world's anti-slavery convention in Lon- 
don. While there she made the acquain- 
tance of Lucretia Mott. Mrs. Stanton 
resided at Boston until 1847, when the 
family moved to Seneca Falls, New York, 
and she and Lucretia Mott signed the first 
call for a woman's rights convention. The 
meeting was held at her place of residence 
July 19-20, 1848. This was the first oc- 
casion of a formal claim of suffrage for 
women that was made. Mrs. Stanton ad- 
dressed the New York legislature, in 1854, 
on the rights of married women, and in 
i860, in advocacy of the granting of di- 
vorce for drunkenness. She also addressed 
the legislature and the constitutional con- 



vention, and maintained that during the 
revision of the constitution the state was 
resolved into its original elements, and that 
all citizens had, therefore, a right to vote 
for the members of that convention. After 
1869 Mrs. Stanton frequently addressed 
congressional committees and state consti- 
tutional conventions, and she canvassed 
Kansas, Michigan, and other states when 
the question of woman suffrage was sub- 
mitted in those states. Mrs. Stanton was 
one of the editors of the " Revolution," and 
most of the calls and resolutions for con- 
ventions have come from her pen. She 
was president of the national committee, 
also of the \\'oman's Loyal League, and 
of the National Association, for many years. 



DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, a great 
American jurist was born in Connecti- 
cut in 1805. He en.o.c^a Williams College 
when sixteen years old, and commenced the 
study of law in 1825. In 1828 he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and went to New York, 
where he soon came into prominence be- 
fore the bar of that state. He entered upon 
the labor of reforming the practice and 
procedure, which was then based upon the 
common law practice of England, and had 
become extremely complicated, difficult and 
uncertain in its application. His first paper 
on this subject was published in 1839, and 
after eight years of continuous efforts in this 
direction, he was appointed one of a com- 
mission by New York to reform the practice 
of that state. The result was embodied in 
the two codes of procedure, civil and crimi- 
nal, the first of which was adopted almost 
entire by the state of New York, and has 
since been adopted by more than half the 
states in the Union, and became the basis 
of the new practice and procedure in Eng- 
land, contained in the Judicature act. He 



ll 



lit 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



127 



was later appointed chairman of a new com- 
mission to codify the entire body of laws. 
This great work employed many years in its 
completion, but when finished it embraced 
a civil, penal, and political code, covering 
the entire field of American laws, statutory 
and common. This great body of law was 
adopted by California and Dakota territory 
in its entirety, and many other states have 
since adopted its substance. In 1867 the 
British Association for Social Science heard 
a proposition from Mr. Field to prepare an 
international code. This led to the prepara- 
tion of his " Draft Outlines of an Interna- 
tional Code, "which was in fact a complete 
body of international laws, and introduced 
the principle of arbitration. Other of his 
-codes of the state of New York have since 
been adopted by that state. 

In addition to his great works on law, 
Mr. Field indulged his literary tastes by fre- 
quent contributions to general literature, 
and his articles on travels, literature, and 
the political questions of the hour gave 
him rank with the best writers of his time. 
His father was the Rev. David Dudley Field, 
and his brothers were Cyrus W. Field, Rev. 
Henry Martin Field, and Justice Stephen 
J. Field of the United States supreme 
court. David Dudley Field died at New 
York, April 13, 1S94. 



HENRY M. TELLER, a celebrated 
American politician, and secretary of 
the interior under President Arthur, was born 
May 23, 1830, in Allegany county, New 
York. He was of Hollandish ancestry and 
received an excellent education, after which 
he took up the study of law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in the state of New York. 
Mr. Teller removed to Illinois in January, 
1858, and practiced for three years in that 
state. From thence he moved to Colorado 



in 1 86 1 and located at Central City, which 
was then one of the principal mining towns 
in the state. His exceptional abilities as 
a lawyer soon brought him into prominence 
and gained for him a numerous and profit- 
able clientage. In politics he affiliated with 
the Republican party, but declined to become 
a candidate for office until the admission of 
Colorado into the Union as a state, when 
he was elected to the United States senate. 
Mr. Teller drew the term ending March 
4, 1877, but was re-elected December 11, 
1876, and served until April 17, 1882, when 
he was appointed by President Arthur as 
secretary of the interior. He accepted a 
cabinet position with reluctance, and on 
March 3, 1885, he retired from the cabinet, 
having been elected to the senate a short 
time before to succeed Nathaniel P. Hill. 
Mr. Teller took his seat on March 4, 1885, 
in the senate, to which he was afterward 
re-elected. He served as chairman on the 
committee of pensions, patents, mines and 
mining, and was also a member of commit- 
tees on claims, railroads, privileges and 
elections and public lands. Mr. Teller came 
to be recognized as one of the ablest advo- 
cates of the silver cause. He was one of the 
delegates to the Republican National conven- 
tion at St. Louis in 1896, in which he took 
an active part and tried to have a silver 
plank inserted in the platform of the party. 
Failing in this he felt impelled to bolt the 
convention, which he did and joined forces 
with the great silver movement in the cam- 
paign which followed, being recognized in 
that campaign as one of the most able and 
eminent advocates of "silver" in America. 



JOHN ERICSSON, an eminent inven- 
tor and machinist, who won fame in 
America, was born in Sweden, July 31, 1803. 
In early childhood he evinced a decided in- 



128 



COMPENDIUM or BIOGRAPHY. 



clmation to mechanical pursuits, and at the 
age of eleven he was appointed to a cadet- 
ship i.i the engineer corps, and at the age of 
seventeen was promoted to a lieutenancy. 
In 1826 he introduced a "flame engine," 
which he had invented, and offered it to 
English capitalists, but it was found that it 
could be operated only by the use of wood 
for fuel. Shortly after this he resigned his 
commission in the army of Sweden, and de- 
voted himself to mechanical pursuits. He 
discovered and introduced the principle of 
artificial draughts in steam boilers, and re- 
ceived a prize of two thousand five hundred 
dollars for his locomotive, the "Novelty," 
which attained a great speed, for that day. 
The artificial draught effected a great saving 
in fuel and made unnecessary the huge 
smoke-stacks formerly used, and the princi- 
ple is still applied, in modified form, in boil- 
ers. He also invented a steam fire-engine, 
and later a hot-air engine, which he at- 
tempted to apply in the operation of his 
ship, "Ericsson," but as it did not give the 
speed required, he abandoned it, but after- 
wards applied it to machinery for pumping, 
hoisting, etc. 

Ericsson was first to apply the screw 
propeller to navigation. The English peo- 
ple not receiving this new departure readily, 
Ericsson came to America in 1839, and 
built the United States steamer, "Prince- 
ton," in which the screw-propeller was util- 
ized, the first steamer ever built in which 
the propeller was under water, out of range 
of the enemy's shots. The achievement 
which gave him greatest renown, however, 
was the ironclad vessel, the " Monitor," an 
er.tirely new type of vessel, which, in March, 
1862, attacked the Confederate monster 
ironclad ram, " Virginia," and after a fierce 
struggle, compelled her to withdraw from 
Hampton Roads for repairs. After the war 



one of his most noted inventions was his 
vessel, " Destroyer," with a submarine gun, 
which carried a projectile torpedo. In 1886 
the king of Spain conferred on him the 
grand cross of the Order of Naval Merit. 
He died in March, 1889, and his body was 
transferred, with naval honors, to the country 
of his birth. 

JAMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi- 
dent of the United States, was a native 
of Pennsylvania, and was born in Franklin 
county, April 23, 1791. He was of Irish 
ancestry, his father having come to this 
country in 1783, in quite humble circum- 
stances, and settled in the western part of 
the Keystone state. 

James Buchanan remained in his se- 
cluded home for eight years, enjoying but 
few social or intellectual advantages. His 
parents were industrious and frugal, and 
prospered, and, in 1799, the family removed 
to Mercersbur Pennsylvania, where he 
was placed in school. His progress was 
rapid, and in 1801 he entered Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, where he took his place 
among the best scholars in the institution. 
In 1809 he graduated with the highest hon- 
ors in his class. He was then eighteen, tall, 
graceful and in vigorous health. He com- 
menced the study of law at Lancaster, and 
was admitted to the bar in 181 2. He rose 
very rapidly in his profession and took a 
stand with the ablest of his fellow lawyers. 
When but twenty-six years old he success- 
fully defended, unaided by counsel, one of 
the judges of the state who was before the 
bar of the state senate under articles of im- 
peachment. 

During the war of 1 812-15, Mr. Buch- 
anan sustained the government with all his 
power, eloquently urging the vigorous prose- 
cution of the war, and enlisted as a private 



COMPENDJUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



129 



volunteer to assist in repelling the British 
who had sacked and burned the public 
buildings of Washington and threatened 
Baltimore. At that time Buchanan was 
a Federalist, but the opposition of that 
party to the war with Great Britain and the 
alien and sedition laws of John Adams, 
brought that party into disrepute, and drove 
many, among them Buchanan, into the Re- 
publican, or anti-Federalist ranks. He was 
elected to congress in 1828. In 1831 he 
was sent as minister to Russia, and upon 
his return to this country, in 1833, was ele- 
vated to the United States senate, and re- 
mained in that position for twelve years. 
Upon the accession of President Polk to 
office he made Mr. Buchanan secretary of 
state. Four years later he retired to pri- 
vate life, and in 1853 he was honored with 
the mission to England. In 1S56 the na- 
tional Democratic convention nominated 
him for the presidency and he was elected. 
It was during his administration that the 
rising tide of the secession movement over- 
took the country. Mr. Buchanan declared 
that the national constitution gave him no 
power to do anything against the movement 
to break up the Union. After his succession 
by Abraham Lincoln in i860, Mr. Buchanan 
retired to his home at Wheatland, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he died June i, 1868. 



JOHN HARVARD, the founder of the 
kJ Harvard University, was born in Eng- 
land about the year 1608. He received his 
education at Emanuel College, Cambridge, 
and came to America in 1637, settling in 
Massachusetts. He was a non-conformist 
minister, and a tract of land was set aside 
for him in Charlestown, near Boston. He 
was at once appointed one of a committee to 
formulate a body of laws for the colony. 
One year before his arrival in the colony 



the general court had voted the sum of four 
hundred pounds toward the establishment of 
a school or college, half of which was to be 
paid the next year In 1637 preliminary 
plans were made for starting the school. In 
1638 John Harvard, who had shown great 
interest in the new institution of learning 
proposed, died, leaving his entire property, 
about twice the sum originally voted, to the 
school, together with three hundred volumes 
as a nucleus for a library. The institution 
was then given the name of Harvard, and 
established at Newton (now Cambridge), 
Massachusetts. It grew to be one of the two 
principal seats of learning in the new world, 
and has maintained its reputation since. It 
now consists of twenty-two separate build- 
ings, and its curriculum embraces over one 
hundred and seventy elective courses, and it 
ranks among the great universities of the 
world. 

ROGER BROOKE TANEY, a noted 
jurist and chief justice of the United 
States supreme court, was born in Calvert 
county, Maryland, March 17, 1777. He 
graduated fiom Dickinson College at the 
age of eighteen, took up the study of law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1799. He 
was chosen to the legislature from his county, 
and in 180 1 removed to Frederick, Mary- 
land. , He became United States senator 
from Maryland in 1816, and took up his 
permanent residence in Baltimore a few 
years later. In 1824 he became an ardent 
admirer and supporter of Andrew Jackson, 
and upon Jackson's election to the presi- 
dency, was appointed attorney general of 
the United States. Two years later he was 
appointed secretary of the treasury, and 
after serving in that capacity for nearly one 
year, the senate refused to confirm the ap- 
pointment. In 1835, upon the death of 



180 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Chief-justice Marshal!, he was appointed to 
that place, and a political change having 
occurred in the make up of the senate, he 
was confirmed in 1836. He presided at 
his first session in January of the following 
year. 

The case which suggests itself first to 
the average reader in connection with this 
jurist is the celebrated " Dred Scott " case, 
which came before the supreme court for 
decision in 1856. In his opinion, delivered 
on behalf of a majority of the court, one 
remarkable statement occurs as a result of 
an exhaustive survey of the historical 
grounds, to the effect that " for more than 
a century prior to the adoption of the con- 
stitution they (Africans) had been regarded 
so far inferior that they had no rights which 
a white man was bound to respect." Judge 
Taney retained the office of chief justice 
until his death, in 1864. 



JOHN LOTHI^OP MOTLEY.— This gen- 
tleman had a world-wide reputation as 
an historian, which placed him in the front 
rank of the great men of America. He was 
born April 15, 18 14, at Dorchester, Massa- 
chusetts, was given a thorough preparatory 
education and then attended Harvard, from 
which he was graduated in 1831. He also 
studied at Gottingen and Berlin, read law 
and in 1836 was admitted to the bar. In 
1 84 1 he was appointed secretary of the 
legation at St. Petersburg, and in 1866-67 
served as United Sta*^es minister to Austria, 
serving in the same capacity during 1869 
and 1870 to England. In 1856, after lon^' 
and exhaustive research and preparation, he 
published in London "The Rise of the 
Dutch Republic." It embraced three vol- 
umes and immediately attracted great at- 
tention throughout Europe and America as 
a work of unusual merit. From 1861 to 



1868 he produced "The History of the 
United Netherlands," in four volumes. 
Other works followed, with equal success, 
and his position as one of the foremost his- 
torians and writers of his day was firmly 
established. His death occured May 29, 
1877- 

ELIAS HOWE, the inventor of the sew- 
ing machine, well deserves to be classed 
among the great and noted men of Amer- 
ica. He was the son of a miller and farmer 
and was born at Spencer, Massacnusetts, 
July 9, 1819. In 1835 he went to Lowell 
and worked there, and later at Boston, in the 
machine shops. His first sewing machine 
was completed in 1845, and he patented it in 
1846, laboring with the greatest persistency 
in spite of poverty and hardships, working 
for a time as an engine driver on a railroad 
at pauper wages and with broken health. 
He then spent two years of unsuccessful ex- 
ertion in England, striving in vain to bring 
his invention into public notice and use. 
He returned to the United States in almost 
hopeless poverty, to find that his patent 
had been violated. At last, however, he 
found friends who assisted him financially, 
and after years of litigation he made good 
his claims in the courts in i 854. His inven- 
tion afterward brought him a large fortune. 
During the Civil war he volunteered as a 
private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Vol- 
unteers, and served for some time. During 
his life time he received the cross of the 
Legion of Honor and many other medals. 
His death occurred October 3, 1867, at 
Brooklyn, New York. 



PHILLIPS BROOKS, celebrated as an 
eloquent preacher and able pulpit ora- 
tor, was born in Boston on the 13th day of 
December, 1835. He received excellent 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



131 



educational advantages, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1855. Early in life he decided 
upon the ministry as his life work and 
studied theology in the Episcopal Theolog- 
ical Seminary, at Alexandria, Virginia. In 
1859 he was ordained and the same year 
became pastor of the Church of the Advent, 
in Philadelphia. Three years later he as- 
sumed the pastorate of the Church of the 
Holy Trinity, where he remained until 1870. 
At the expiration of that time he accepted 
the pastoral charge of Trinity Church in 
Boston, where his eloquence and ability at- 
tracted much attention and built up a pow- 
erful church organization. Dr. Brooks also 
devoted considerable time to lecturing and 
literary work and attained prominence in 
these lines. 

WILLIAM B. ALLISON, a statesman 
of national reputation and one of the 
leaders of the Republican party, was born 
March 2, 1829, at Perry, Ohio. He grew 
up on his father's farm, which he assisted 
in cultivating, and attended the district 
school. When si.xteen years old he went 
to the academy at Wooster, and subse- 
quently spent a year at the Allegheny Col- 
lege, at Meadville, Pennsylvania. . He ne.xt 
taught school and spent another year at the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio. 
Mr. Allison then took up the study of law 
at Wooster, where he was admitted to the 
bariniS5i, and soon obtained a position 
as deputy county clerk. His political lean- 
ings were toward the old line Whigs, who 
afterward laid the foundation of the Repub- 
lican party. He was a delegate to the state 
convention in 1S56, in the campaign of 
which he supported Fremont for president. 
Mr Allison removed to Dubuque, Iowa, 
in the following year. He rapidly rose to 
prominence at the bar and in politics. In 



i860 he was chosen as a delegate to the 
Republican convention held in Chicago, of 
which he was elected one of the secretaries. 
At the outbreak of the civil war he was ap- 
pointed on the staff of the governor. His 
congressional career opened in 1862, when 
he was elected to the thirty-eighth congress; 
he was re-elected three times, serving from 
March 4, 1863, to March 3,*i8fi. He was 
a member of the ways and means committee 
a good part of his term. His career in the 
United States senate began in 1873, and he 
rapidly* rose to eminence in national affairs, 
his service of a quarter of a century in that 
body being marked by close fealty to the 
Republican party. He twice declined the 
portfolio of the treasury tendered him by 
Garfield and Harrison, and his name was 
prominently mentioned for the presidency 
at several national Republican conventions. 



Mf 

1 T 1 tUI 



ARY ASHTON LIVERMORE. lec- 
rer and writer, was born in Boston, 
December 19, 1821. She was the daughter 
of Timothy Rice, and married D. P. Liver- 
more, a preacher of the Universalist church. 
She contributed able articles to many of the 
most noted periodicals of this country and 
England. During the Civil war she labored 
zealously and with success on behalf of the 
sanitary commission which played so impor- 
tant a part during that great struggle. She 
became editor of the " ^^'oman's Journal," 
published at Boston in 1870. 

She held a prominent place as a public 
speaker and writer on woman's suffrage, 
temperance, social and religious questions, 
and her influence was great in every cause 
she advocated. 



JOHN B. COUGH, a noted temperance 
lecturer, who won his fame in America, 
was born in the village of Sandgate, Kent, 



132 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



England, August 22, 1817. He came to 
the United States at the age of twelve. 
He {oUowed the trade of bookbinder, and 
lived in great poverty on account of the 
liquor habit. In 1843, however, he re- 
formed, and began his career as a temper- 
ance lecturer. He worked zealously in the 
cause of temperance, and his lectures and 
published articles revealed great earnestness. 
He formed temperance societies throughout 
the entire country, and labored with great 
success. He visited England in the same 
cause about the year 1853 and again in 
1878. He also lectured upon many other 
topics, in which he attained a wide reputa- 
tion. His death occurred February 18, 
1886. 

THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, author, 
sculptor and painter, was born in Ches- 
ter county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1822. 
He early evinced a taste for art, and began 
the study of sculpture in Cincinnati. Later 
he found painting more to his liking. He 
went to New York, where he followed this 
profession, and later to Boston. In 1846 
he located in Philadelphia. He visited 
Italy in 1850, and studied at Florence, 
where he resided almost continuously for 
twenty-two years. He returned to America 
in 1872, and died in New York May 11 of 
the same year. 

He was the author of many heroic 
poems, but the one giving him the most re- 
nown is his famous "Sheridan's Ride," of 
which he has also left a representation in 
painting. 

EUGENE V. DEBS, the former famous 
president of the American Railway 
Union, and great labor leader, was born in 
the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1855. 
He received his education in the public 



schools of that place and at the age of 
sixteen years began work as a painter in 
the Vandalia shops. After this, for some 
three years, he was employed as a loco- 
motive fireman on the same road. His 
first app>earance in public life was in his fll 
canvass for the election to the office of city 
clerk of Terre Haute. In this capacity he 
served two terms, and when twenty six 
years of age was elected a member of the 
legislature of the state of Indiana. While 
a member of that body he secured the 
passage of several bills in the interest of 
organized labor, of which he was always 
a . faithful champion. Mr. Debs' speech 
nominating Daniel Voorhees for the United 
States senate gave him a wide reputation for 
oratory. On the expiration of his term in 
the legislature, he was elected grand secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Brotherhood of 
Locomotive Fireman and filled that office 
for fourteen successive years. He was 
always an earnest advocate of confederation 
of railroad men and it was mainly through 
his efforts that the United Order of Railway 
Employes, composed of the Brotherhood 
of Railway Trainmen and Conductors, 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and 
the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association was 
formed, and he became a member of its 
supreme council. The order was dissolved 
by disagreement between two of its leading 
orders, and then Mr. Debs conceived the 
idea of the American Railway Union. He 
worked on the details and the union came 
into existence in Chicago, June 20, i S93. For 
a time it prospered and became one of the 
largest bodies of railway men in the world. 
It won in a contest with the Great Northern 
Railway. In the strike made by the union 
in sympathy with the Pullman employes 
inaugurated in Chicago June 25, 1S94, and 
the consequent rioting, the Railway Union 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Ib3 



lost much prestige and Mr. Debs, in company 
with others of the officers, being held as in con - 
tempt of the United States courts, he suffered 
a sentence of six months in jail at Wood- 
stock, McHenry county, Illinois. In 1897 
Mr. Debs, on the demise of the American 
Railway Union, organized the Social 
Democracy, an institution founded on the 
best lines of the communistic idea, which 
was to provide homes and employment for 
its members. 



JOHN G. CARLISLE, famous as a law- 
yer, congressman, senator and cabinet 
officer, was born in Campbell (now Kenton) 
county, Kentucky, September 5, 1835, o" ^ 
farm. He received the usual education oi 
the time and began at an early age to teach 
school and, at the same time, the study of 
law. Soon opportunity offered and he 
entered an office in Covington, Kentucky, 
and was admitted to practice at the bar in 
1858. Politics attracted his attention and 
in 1859 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in the legislature of his native 
state. On the outbreak of the war in 1861 , 
he embraced the cause of the Union and was 
largely instrumental in preserving Kentucky 
to the federal cause. He resumed his legal 
practice for a time and declined a nomina- 
tion as presidential elector in 1864. In 
1866 and again in. 1869 Mr. Carlisle was 
elected to the senate of Kentucky. He re- 
signed this position in 1871 and was chosen 
lieutenant governor of the state, which office 
he held until 1875. He was one of the 
presidential electors-at- large for Ken- 
tucky in 1876. He first entered congress in 
1877, and soon became a prominent leader 
on the Democratic side of the house of rep- 
resentatives, and continued a member of 
that body through the forty-sixth, forty- 
seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth con- 



gresses, and was speaker of the house during 
the two latter. He was elected to the 
United States senate to succeed Senator 
Blackburn, and remained a member of that 
branch of congress until March, 1893, when 
he was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
He performed the duties of that high office 
until March 4, 1897, throughout the en- 
tire second administration of President 
Cleveland. His ability and many years of 
public service gave him a national reputa- 
tion. 



FRANCES E. WILLARD, for many years 
president of the -Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union, and a noted American 
lecturer and writer, was born in Rochester, 
New York, September 28, 1839. Graduating 
from the Northwestern Female College at the 
age of nineteen she began teaching and met 
with great success in many cities of the west. 
She was made directress of Genesee Wes- 
leyan Seminary at Lima, Ohio, in 1867, and 
four years later was elected president of the 
Evanston College for young ladies, a branch 
of the Northwestern Universitj'. 

During the two years succeeding 1869 
she traveled extensively in Europe and the 
east, visiting Egypt and Palestine, and 
gathering materials for a valuable course of 
lectures, which she delivered at Chicago on 
her return. She became very popular, and 
won great influence in the temperance 
cause. Her work as president of the Wo- 
man's Christian Temperance Union greatly 
strengthened that society, and she made 
frequent trips to Europe in the interest of 
that cause. 

RICHARD OLNEY.— Among the promi- 
nent men who were members of the 
cabinet of President Cleveland in his second 
administration, the gentleman whose nama 



134 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



heads this sketch held a leading place, oc- 
cupying the positions of attorney general 
and secretary of state. 

Mr. Olney came from one of the oldest 
and most honored New England families; 
the first of his ancestors to come from Eng- 
land settled in Massachusetts in 1635. This 
was Thomas Olney. He was a friend and 
co-religionist of Roger Williams, and when 
the latter moved to what is now Rhode 
feland, went with him and became one of 
the founders of Providence Plantations. 

Richard Olney was born in Oxford, 
Massachusetts, in 1835, and received the 
elements of his earlier education in the com- 
mon schools which New England is so proud 
of. He entered Brown University, from 
which he graduated in 1856, and passed the 
Harvard law school two years later. He 
began the practice of his profession with 
Judge B. F. Thomas, a prominent man of 
that locality. For years Richard Olney was 
regarded as one of the ablest and most 
learned lawyers in Massachusetts. Twice 
he was offered a place on the bench of the 
suDreme court of the state, but both times 
he declined. He was always a Democrat 
in his political tenets, and for many years 
was a trusted counsellor of members of that 
party. In 1874 J^^r. Olney was elected a 
member of the legislature. In 1876, during 
the heated presidential campaign, to 
strengthen the cause of Mr. Tilden in the 
New England states, it was intimated that 
m the event of that gentleman's election to 
tiie presidency, Mr. Olney would be attor- 
nev peneral. 

vvhen Grover Cleveland was elected presi- 
'*'"nt of the United States, on his inaugura- 
tion in March, 1893, he tendered the posi- 
tion of attorney general to Richard Olney. 
This was accepted, and that gentleman ful- 
filled the duties of the office until the death 



of Walter Q. Gresham, in May, 1895, made 
vacant the position of secretary of state. 
This post was filled by the appointment of 
Mr. Olney. While occupying the later 
office, Mr. Olney brought himself into inter- 
national prominence by some very able state 
papers. 

JOHN JAY KNOX, for many years comp- 
troller of the currency, and an eminent 
financier, was born in Knoxboro, Oneida 
county, New York, May 19, 1S28. He re- 
ceived a good education and graduated at 
Hamilton College in 1849. I'or about 
thirteen years he was engaged as a private 
banker, or in a position in a bank, where 
he laid the foundation of his knowledge of 
the laws of finance. In 1862, Salmon P. 
Chase, then secretary of the treasury, ap- 
pointed him to an office in that department 
of the government, and later he had charge 
of the mint coinage correspondence. In 1867 
Mr. Knox was made deputy comptroller 
of the currency, and in that capacity, in 
1870, he made two reports on the mint 
service, with a codification of the mint and 
coinage laws of the United States, and 
suggesting many important amendments 
These reports were ordered printed by reso- 
lution of congress. The bill which he pre- 
pared, with some slight changes, was sub- 
sequently passed, and has been known ini 
history as the " Coinage Act of 1873." 

In 1872 Mr. Knox wrs appointed comp- 
troller of the currency, and held that re- 
sponsible position until 1884, when he re- 
signed. He then accepted the position of 
president of the National Bank of the Re- 
public, of New York City, which institution, 
he served for many years. He was t he- 
author of " United States Notes," published; 
in 1884. In the reports spoken of above, a: 
history of the two United States banks iT 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



135' 



given, together with that of the state and 
national banking system, and much valuable 
statistical matter relating to kindred sub- 
jects. 

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.— In the 
opinion of many critics Hawthorne is 
pronounced the foremost American novelist, 
and in his peculiar vein of romance is said 
to be without a peer. His reputation is 
world-wide, and his ability as a writer is 
recognized abroad as well as at home. 
He was born July 4, 1804, at Salem, Massa- 
chusetts. On account of feeble health he 
spent some years of his boyhood on a farm 
near Raymond, Maine. He laid the foun- 
dation of a liberal education in his youth, 
and entered Bowdoin College, from which 
he graduated in 1S25 in the same class with 
H W Longfellow and John S. C. Abbott. 
He then returned to Salem, where he gave 
his attention to literature, publishing several 
tales and other articles in various periodi- 
cals. His first venture in the field of ro- 
mance, " Fanshaw,'' proved a failure. In 
1836 he removed to Boston, and became 
editor of the "American Magazine," which 
soon passed out of existence. In 1837 he 
published " Twice Told Tales," which were 
chiefly made up of his former contributions 
to magazines. In 1838-41 he held a posi- 
tion in the Boston custom house, but later 
took part in the "Brook /arm experiment," 
a socialistic idea after the plan of Fourier. 
In 1843 he was married and took up his 
residence at the old parsonage at Concord, 
Massachusetts, which he immortalized in 
his next work, ".Mosses From an Old 
Manse," published in 1846. From the lat- 
ter date until 1850 he was surveyor of the 
port of Salem, and while thus employed 
wrote one of his strongest works, "The 
Scarlet Letter." For the succeeding two 

8 



years Lenox, Massachusetts, was his home, 
and the " House of the Seven Gables" was 
produced there, as well as the " Blithedale 
Romance." In 1852 he published a "Life 
of Franklin Pierce," a college friend whom 
he warmly regarded. In 1853 he was ap- 
pointed United States consul to Liverpool, 
England, where he remained some years, 
after which he spent some time in Italy. 
On returning to his native land he took up 
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts. 
While taking a trip for his health with ex- 
President Pierce, he died at Plymouth, New 
Hampshire, May 19, 1864. In addition to 
the works mentioned above Mr. Hawthorne 
gave to the world the following books: 
" True Stories from History," "The Won- 
der Book," " The Snow Image," "Tangle- 
wood Tales," "The Marble Faun," and 
' ' Our Old Home. " After his death appeared 
a series of "Notebooks," edited by his wife, 
Sophia P. Hawthorne; " Septimius Felton," 
edited by his daughter, Una, and "Dr. 
Grimshaw's Secret," put into shape by his 
talented son, Julian. He left an unfinished 
work called " Dolliver Romance," which has 
been published just as he left it. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN, sixteenth presi- 
dent of the United States, was born 
February 12, 1809, in Larue county (Har- 
din county), Kentucky, in a log-cabin near 
Hudgensville. When he was eight years 
old he removed with his parents to Indiana, 
near the Ohio river, and a year later his 
mother died. His father then married Mrs. 
Elizabeth fBush) Johnston, of Elizabeth- 
town, Kentucky, who proved a kind of fos- 
ter-mother to Abraham, and encouraged 
him to study. He worked as a farm hand 
and as a clerk in a store at Gentryville, and 
was noted for his athletic feats and strength. 
fondness for debate, a fund of humorous 



186 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPlir. 



anecdote, as well as the composition of rude 
verses. He made a trip at the age of nine- 
teen to New Orleans on a flat-boat, and set- 
tied in Illinois in 1830. He assisted his 
father to build a log house and clear a farm 
on the Sangamon river near Decatur, Illinois, 
and split the rails with which to fence it. In 
185 1 he was employed in the building of a 
flat-boat on the Sangamon, and to run it to 
New Orleans. The voyage gave him anew 
insight into the horrors of slavery in the 
south. On his return he settled at New 
Salem and engaged, first as a clerk in a store, 
then as grocer, surveyor and postmaster, and 
he piloted the first steamboat that as- 
cended the Sangamon. He participated in 
the Black Hawk war as captain of volun- 
teers, and after his return he studied law, 
interested himself in politics, and became 
prominent locally as a public speaker. He 
was elected to the legislature in 1834 as a 
'• Clay Whig, " and began at once to dis- 
play a command of language and forcible 
rhetoric that made him a match for his 
more cultured opponents. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1837, and began prac- 
tice at Springfield. He married a lady of a 
prominent Kentucky family in 1842. He 
was active in the presidential campaigns of 
1840 and 1844 and was an elector on the 
Harrison and Clay tickets, and was elected 
to congress in 1846, over Peter Cartwright. 
He voted for the \\'ilmot proviso and the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- 
bia, and opposed the war with Mexico, but 
gained little prominence during his two 
years' service. He then returned to Spring- 
field and devoted his attention to law, tak- 
ing little interest in politics, until the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise and the passage 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1854. This 
awakened his interest in politics again and 
he attacked the champion of that measure, 



Stephen A. Douglas, in a speech at Spring- 
field that made him famous, and is said 
by those who heard it to be the greatest 
speech of his life. Lincoln was selected as 
candidate for the United States senate, but 
was defeated by Trumbull. Upon the pas- 
sage of the Kansas- Nebraska bill the Whig 
party suddenly went to pieces, and the Re- 
publican party gathered head. At the 
Bloomington Republican convention in 1856 
Lincoln made an effective address in which 
he first took a position antagonistic to the ex- 
istence of slavery. He was a Fremont elector 
and received a strong support for nomina- 
tion as vice-president in the Philadelphia 
convention. In 1858 he was the unanimous 
choice of the Republicans for the United 
States senate, and the great campaign of de- 
bate which followed resulted in the election 
of Douglas, but established Lincoln's repu- 
tation as the leading exponent of Republican 
doctrines. He began to be mentioned in 
Illinois as candidate for the presidency, and 
a course of addresses in the eastern states 
attracted favorable attention. When the 
national convention met at Chicago, his 
rivals, Chase, Seward, Bates and others, 
were compelled to retire before the western 
giant, and he was nominated, with Hannibal 
Hamlin as his running mate. The Demo- 
cratic party had now been disrupted, and 
Lincoln's election assured. He carried 
practically every northern state, and the 
secession of South Carolina, followed by a 
number of the gulf states, took place before 
his inauguration. Lincoln is the only presi- 
dent who was ever compelled to reach 
Washington in a secret manner. He es- 
caped assassination by avoiding Baltimore, 
and was quietly inaugurated March 4, 1S61. J 
His inaugural address was firm but con- 7 
ciliatory, and he said to the secessionists: 
"You have no oath registered in heaven 



ii 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



137 



to destroy the government, while 1 have the 
most solemn one to preserve, protect and 
defend it.' He made up his cabinet chiefly 
of those poHtical rivals in his own party — 
Seward, Chase, Cameron, Bates — and se- 
cured the co-operation of the Douglas Dem- 
ocrats. His great deeds, amidst the heat 
and turmoil of war, were: His call for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the 
blockading of southern ports; calling of con- 
gress in extra session, July 14, 1861, and 
obtaining four hundred thousand men and 
four hundred million dollars for the prosecu- 
tion of the war; appointing Stanton secre- 
tary of war; issuing the emancipation proc- 
lamation; calling three hundred thou- 
sand volunteers; address at Gettysburg 
cemetery; commissioned Grant as lieuten- 
ant-general and commander-in-chief of the 
armies of the United States; his second 
inaugural address; his visit to the army be- 
fore Richmond, and his entry into Rich- 
mond the day after its surrender. 

Abraham Lincoln v/as shot by John 
Wi'kes Booth in a box in Ford's theater 
at Washington the night of April 14, 1865, 
and expired the following morning. His 
body was buried at Oak Ridge cemetery, 
Springfield, Illinois, and a monument com- 
memorating his great work marks his resting 
place. 

STEPHEN GIRARD, the celebrated 
philanthropist, was born in Bordeaux, 
France, May 24, 1750. He became a sailor 
engaged in the 'American coast trade, and 
also made frequent trips to the West Indies. 
During the Revolutionary war he was a 
grocer and liquor seller in Philadelphia. 
He married in that city, and afterward 
separated from his wife. After the war he 
again engaged in the coast and West India 
trade, and his fortune began to accumulate 



from receiving goods from West Indian 
planters during the insurrection in Hayti, 
little of which was ever called for again. 
He became a private banker in Philadelphia 
in 1 812, and afterward was a director in the 
United States Bank. He made much money 
by leasing property in the city in times of 
depression, and upon the revival of industry 
sub-leasing at enormous profit. He became 
the wealthiest citizen of the United States 
of his time. 

He was eccentric, ungracious, and a 
freethinker. He had few, if any, friends in 
his lifetime. However, he was most chari- 
tably disposed, and gave to charitable in- 
stitutions and schools with a liberal hand. 
He did more than any one else to relieve 
the suffering and deprivations during the 
great yellow fever scourge in Philadelphia, 
devoting his personal attention to the sick. 
He endowed and made a free institution, 
the famous Will's Eye and Ear Infirmary 
of Philadelphia — one of the largest institu- 
tions of its kind in the world. At his death 
practically all his immense wealth was be- 
queathed to charitable institutions, more 
than two millions of dollars going to the 
founding of Girard College, which was to 
be devoted to the education and training of 
boys between the ages of six and ten years. 
Large donations were also made to institu- 
tions in Philadelphia and New Orleans. 
The principal building of Girard College is 
the most magnificent example of Greek 
architecture in America. Girard died De- 
cember 26, 1831. 



LOUIS J. R. AGASSIZ, the eminent nat- 
uralist and geologist, was born in the 
parish of Motier, near Lake Neuchatel, Swit- 
zerland, May 28, 1807, but attained his 
greatest fame after becoming an American 
citizen. He studied the medical sciences at 



138 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich. His first 
work was a Latin description of the fishes 
which Martins and Spix brought from Brazil. 
This was published in 1 829-3 1 . He devoted 
much time to the study of fossil fishes, and 
in 1S32 was appointed professor of natural 
history at Neuchatel. He greatly increased 
his reputation by a great work in French, 
entitled " Researches on Fossil Fishes," in 
1832—42, in which he made many important 
improvements in the classification of fishes. 
Having passed many summers among the 
Alps in researches on glaciers, he propounded 
some new and interesting ideas on geology, 
and the agency of glaciers in his "Studies 
by the Glaciers." This was published in 
1840. This latter work, with his " System 
of the Glaciers," published in 1847, are 
among his principal works. 

In 1846, Professor Agassiz crossed the 
ocean on a scientific excursion to the United 
States, and soon determined to remain here. 
He accepted, about the beginning of 1848, 
the chair of zoology and geology at Harvard. 
He explored the natural history of the 
United States at different times and gave an 
impulse to the study of nature in this 
country. In 1865 he conducted an expedi- 
tion to Brazil, and explored the lower Ama- 
zon and its tributaries. In 1868 he was 
made non-resident professor of natural his- 
tory at Cornell University. In December, 
1 87 1, he accompanied the Hassler expedi- 
tion, under Professor Pierce, to the South 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He died at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 14, 

1873. 

Among other of the important works of 
Professor Agassiz may be mentioned the fol- 
lowmg: "Outlines of Comparative Physi- 
ology," "Journey to Brazil," and "Contri- 
butions to the Natural History of the United 
States." It is said of Professor Agassiz, 



that, perhaps, with the exception of Hugh 
Miller, no one had so popularized science in 
his day, or trained so many young natural- 
ists. Many of the theories held by Agassiz 
are not supported by many of the natural- 
ists of these later days, but upon many of 
the speculations into the origin of species and 
in physics he has left the marks of his own 
strongly marked individuality. 



WILLIAM WINDOM.— As a prominent 
and leading lawyer of the great north- 
west, as a member of both houses of con- 
gress, and as the secretary of the treasury, 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
won for himself a prominent position in the 
history of our country. 

Mr. Windom was a native of Ohio, 
born in Belmont county, May 10, 1827. 
He received a good elementary education ui 
the schools of his native state, and took up 
the study of law. He was admitted to the 
bar, and entered upon the practice of his 
profession in Ohio, where he remained until 
1855. In the latter year he made up his 
mind to move further west, and accordingly 
went to Minnesota, and opening an office, 
became identified with the interests of that 
state, and the northwest generally. In 
1858 he took his place in the Minnesota 
delegation in the national house of repre- 
sentatives, at Washington, and continued 
to represent his constituency in that body 
for ten years. In 1871 Mr. Windom was 
elected United States senator from Min- 
nesota, and was re-elected to the same office 
after fulfilling the duties of the position for 
a full term, in 1S76. On the inauguration 
of President Garfield, in March, 1881, Mr. 
Windom became secretary of the treasury 
in his cabinet. He resigned this office Oc- 
tober 27, 1 88 1, and was elected senator 
from the North Star state to fill the va- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



139 



caricy caused by the resignation of A. J. 
EdjTerton. Mr. Windom served in that 
chamber until March, 1883. 

William \\'indom died in New York 
City January 29, 1891. 



DON M. DICKINSON, an American 
politician and lawyer, was born in 
Port Ontario, New York, January 17, 1846. 
He removed with his parents to Michigan 
when he was but two years old. He was 
educated in the public schools of Detroit 
and at the University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at the 
age of twenty-one. In 1872 he was made 
secretary of the Democratic state central 
committee of Michigan, and his able man- 
agement of the campaign gave him a prom- 
inent place in the councils of his party. In 
1876, during the Tilden campaign, he acted 
as chairman of the state central committee. 
He was afterward chosen to represent his 
state in the Democratic national committee, 
and in 1886 he was appointed postmaster- 
general by President Cleveland. After the 
expiration of his term of office he returned 
to Detroit and resumed the practice of law. 
In the presidential campaign of 1896, Mr. 
Dickinson adhered to the "gold wing "of 
the Democracy, and his influence was felt 
in the national canvass, and especially in 
his own state. 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR, the founder of 
vJ the Astor family and fortunes, while not 
a native of this country, was one of the 
most noted men of his time, and as all his 
wealth and fame were acquired here, he 
may well be classed among America's great 
men. He was born near Heidelberg, Ger- 
m.any, July 17, 1763, and when twenty 
years old emigrated to the United States. 
Even at that a^e he exhibited remarkable 



business ability and foresight, and soon he 
was investing capital in furs which he took 
to London and sold at a great profit. He 
next settled at New York, and engaged ex- 
tensively in the fur trade. He exported 
furs to Europe in his own vessels, which re- 
turned with cargoes of foreign commodities, 
and thus he rapidly amassed an immense 
fortune. In 181 1 he founded Astoria on 
the western coast of North America, near 
the mouth of the Columbia river, as a depot 
for the fur trade, for the promotion of 
which he sent a number of expeditions to 
the Pacific ocean. He also purchased a 
large amount of real estate in New York, 
the value of which increased enormously 
All through life his business ventures were 
a series of marvelous successes, and he 
ranked as one of the most sagacious and 
successful business men in the world. He 
died March 29, 1848, leaving a fortune es- 
timated at over twenty million dollars to 
his children, who have since increased it. 
John Jacob Astor left $400,000 to found a 
public library in New York City, and his son, 
William B. Astor, who died in 1875, left 
$300,000 to add to his father's bequest. 
This is known as the Astor Library, one of 
the largest in the United States. 



SCHUYLER COLFAX, an eminent 
American statesman, was born in New 
York City, March 23, 1823, being a grand- 
son of General William Colfax, the com- 
mander of Washington's life-guards. In 
1836 he removed with his mother, who was 
then a widow, to Indiana, settling at South 
Bend. Young Schuyler studied law, and 
in 1845 became editor of the "St. Joseph 
Valley Register," a Whig paper published 
at South Bend. He was a member of the 
convention which formed a new constitu- 
tion for Indiana in 1850, and he opposed 



140 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



the clause that prohibited colored men 
from settling in that state. In 185 i he was 
defeated as the Whig candidate for congress 
but was elected in 1854, and, being repeat- 
edly re-elected, continued to represent that 
district in congress until 1869. He became 
one of the most prominent and influential 
members of the house of representatives, 
and served three terms as speaker. During 
the Civil war he was an active participant 
in all public measures of importance, and 
was a confidential friend and adviser of 
President Lincoln. In May, 1868, Mr. 
Colfax was nominated for vice-president on 
the ticket with General Grant, and was 
elected. After the close of his term he re- 
tired from office, and for the remainder of 
his life devoted much of his time to lectur- 
ing and literary pursuits. His death oc- 
curred January 23, 1885. He was one* of 
the most prominent members of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows in America, 
and that order erected a bronze statue to 
his memory in University Park. Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana, which was unveiled in May, 
1887. 

WILLIAM FREEMAN VILAS, who at- 
tained a national reputation as an able 
lawyer, statesman, and cabinet officer, was 
born at Chelsea, Vermont, July 9, 1840. 
His parents removed to Wisconsin when 
our subject was but eleven years of age, 
and there with the early settlers endured all 
the hardships and trials incident to pioneer 
life. William F. Vilas was given all the 
advantages found in the common schools, 
and supplemented this by a course of study 
in the Wisconsin State University, after 
which he studied law, was admitted to the 
bar and began practicing at Madison. 
Shortly afterward the Civil war broke out 
and Mr. Vilas enlisted and became colonel 



of the Twenty-third regiment of Wisconsin 
Volunteers, serving throughout the war with 
distinction. At the close of the war he re- 
turned to Wisconsin, resumed his law prac- 
tice, and rapidly rose to eminence in this 
profession. In 18S5 he was selected by 
President Cleveland for postmaster-general 
and at the close of his term again returned 
to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume the prac- 
tice of law. 

THOMAS McINTYRECOOLEY, anem- 
inent American jurist and law writer, 
was born in Attica, New York, January 6, 
1 824. He was admitted to the bar in 1 846, 
and four j'ears later was appointed reporter 
of the supreme court of Michigan, which 
office he continued to hold for seven years. 
In the meantime, in 1859, he became pro- 
fessor of the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, and soon afterward was 
made dean of the faculty of that depart- 
ment. In 1864 he was elected justice of 
the supreme court of Michigan, in 1867 be- 
came chief justice of that court, and in 
1869 was re-elected for a term of eight 
years. In 1881 he again joined the faculty 
of the University of Michigan, assuming the 
professorship of constitutional and adminis- 
trative law. His works on these branches 
have become standard, and he is recog- 
nized as authority on this and related sub- 
jects. Upon the passage of the inter-state 
commerce law in 1887 he became chairman 
of the commission and served in that capac- 
ity four years. 



JOHN PETER ALTGELD, a noted 
American politician and writer on social 
questions, was born in Germany, December 
30, 1847. He came to America with his 
parents and settled in Ohio when two years 
old. In 1S64 he entered the Union army 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHr. 



141 



and served till the close of the war, after 
which he settled in Chicago, Illinois. He 
was elected judge of the superior court of 
Cook county, Illinois, in 1886, in which 
capacity he served until elected governor of 
Illinois in 1892, as a Democrat. During 
the first year of his term as governor he at- 
tracted national attention by his pardon of 
the anarchists convicted of the Haymarket 
murder in Chicago, and again in 1894 by 
his denunciation of President Cleveland for 
calling out federal troops to suppress the 
rioting in connection with the great Pull- 
man strike in Chicago. At the national 
convention of the Democratic party in Chi- 
cago, in July, 1896, he is said to have in- 
soired the clause in the platform denuncia- 
tory of interference by federal authorities in 
local affairs, and "government by injunc- 
tion." He was gubernatorial candidate for 
re-election on the Democratic ticket in 1896, 
but was defeated by John R. Tanner, Re- 
publican. Mr. Altgeld published two vol- 
umes of essays on " Live Questions," evinc- 
ing radical views on social matters. 



ADLAI EWING STEVENSON, an Amer. 
ican statesman and politician, was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23, 
1835. and removed with the family to 
Bloomington, Illinoi?, in 1S52. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1858, and set- 
tled in the practice of his profession 
in Metamora, Illinois. In 1861 lie was 
made master in chancery of Woodford 
county, and in 1864 was elected state's at- 
torney. In 1868 he returned to Blooming- 
ton and formed a law partnership with 
James S. Ewing. He had served as a pres- 
idential elector in 1864, and in 1868 was 
elected to congress as a Democrat, receiv- 
ing a majority vote from every county in his 
district. He became promment in his 



party, and was a delegate to the national 
convention in 1884. On the election of 
Cleveland to the presidency Mr. Stevenson 
was appointed first assistant postmaster- 
general. After the expiration of his term 
he continued to exert a controlling influence 
in the politics of his state, and in 1892 was 
elected vice-president of the United States 
on the ticket with Grover Cleveland. At 
the expiration of his term of office he re- 
sumed the practice of law at Bloomington, 
Illinois. 



SIMON CAMERON, whose name is 
prominently identified with the history 
of the United States as a political leader 
and statesman, was born in Lancaster coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. He grew 
to manhood in his native county, receiving 
good educational advantages, and develop- 
ing a natural inclination for political life. 
He rapidly rose in prominence and became 
the most influential Democrat in Penns}-,'" 
vania, and in 1845 was elected by that party 
to the United States senate. Upon the 
organization of the Republican party he was 
one of the first to declare his allegiance to 
it, and in 1856 was re-elected United States 
senator from Pennsylvania as a Republican. 
In March, 1861, he was appointed secretary 
of war by President Lincoln, and served 
until early in 1862, when he was sent as 
minister to Russia, returning in 1863. In 
1866 he was again elected United States 
senator and served until 1877, when he re- 
signed and was succeeded by his son, James 
Donald Cameron. He continued to exert a 
powerful influence in political affairs up to 
the time of his death, June 26, 1889. 

James Donald Cameron was the eld- 
est son of Simon Cameron, and also 
attained a high rank among American 
statesmen. He was born at Harrisburg, 



142 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and received an 
excellent education, graduating at Princeton 
College in 1852. He rapidly developed into 
one of the most able and successful business 
men of the country and vi-as largely inter- 
ested in and identified with the develop- 
ment of the coal, iron, lumber and manu- 
facturing interests of his native state. He 
served as cashier and afterward president of 
the Middletownbank, and in 1S61 was made 
vice-president, and in 1863 president of 
the Northern Central railroad, holding this 
position until 1874, when he resigned and 
was succeeded by Thomas A. Scott. This 
road was of great service to the government 
during the war as a means of communica- 
tion between Pennsylvania and the national 
capital, via Baltimore. Mr. Cameron also 
took an active part in political affairs, 
always as a Republican. In May, 1876, 
he was appointed secretary of war in Pres- 
ident Grant's cabinet, and in 1877 suc- 
ceeded his father in the United States 
senate. He was re-elected in 1885, and 
again in 1891, serving until 1896, and was 
recognized as one of the most prominent and 
influential members of that bodv. 



ADOLPHUS W. GREELEY, a famous 
American arctic explorer, was born at 
Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27, 
1844. He graduated from Brown High 
School at the age of sixteen, and a year 
later enlisted in Company B, Nineteenth 
Massachusetts Infantry, and was made first 
sergeant. In 1863 he was promoted to 
second lieutenant. After the war he was 
assigned to the Fifth United States Cavalry, 
and became first lieutenant in 1873. He 
was assigned to duty in the United States 
signal service shortly after the close of the 
war. An expedition was fitted out by the 
United States government in 1881, un- 



der auspices of the weather bureau, and 
Lieutenant Greeley placed in command.. 
They set sail from St. Johns the first week 
in July, and after nine days landed in Green- 
land, where they secured the services of two 
natives, together with sledges, dogs, furs 
and equipment. They encountered an ice 
pack early in August, and on the 28th of 
that month freezing weather set in. Two 
of his party, Lieutenant Lockwood and Ser- 
geant Brainard, added to the known maps 
about forty miles of coast survey, and 
reached the highest point yet attained by 
man, eighty-three degrees and twenty-four 
minutes north, longitude, forty-four degrees 
and five minutes west. On their return to 
Fort Conger, Lieutenant Greeley set out 
for the south on August 9, 1S83. He 
reached Baird Inlet twenty dajs later with 
his entire party. Here the}' were compelled 
to abandon their boats, and drifted on an 
ice-floe for one month. They then went 
into camp at Cape Sabine, where they suf- 
fered untold hardships, and eighteen of the 
party succumbed to cold and hunger, and 
had relief been delayed two days longer 
none would have been found alive. They 
were picked up by the relief expedition, 
under Captain Schley, June 22, 1884. The 
dead were taken to New York for burial. 
Many sensational stories were published 
concerning the expedition, and Lieutenant 
Greeley prepared an exhaustive account 
of his explorations and experiences. 



LEVI P. MORTON, the millionaire poli- 
tician, was born in Shoreham, Ver- 
mont, May 16, 1824, and his early educa- 
tion consisted of the rudiments which he 
obtained in the common school up to the 
age of fourteen, and after that time what 
knowledge he gained was wrested from the 
hard school of experience. He removed to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



143 



Hanover, Vermont, then Concord, Vermont, 
and afterwards to Boston. He had worked 
in a store at Shoreham, his native village, 
and on going to Hanover he established a 
store and went into business for himself: 
In Boston he clerked in a dry goods store, 
and then opened a business of his own in 
the same line in New York. After a short 
career he failed, and was compelled to set- 
tle with his creditors at only fifty cents on 
the dollar. He began the struggle anew, 
and when the war began he established a 
banking house in New York, with Junius 
Morgan as a partner. Through his firm 
and connections the great government war 
loans were floated, and it resulted in im- 
mense profits to his house. When he was 
again thoroughly established he invited his 
former creditors to a banquet, and under 
each guest's plate was found a check cover- 
ing the amount of loss sustained respec- 
tively, with interest to date. 

President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor- 
ton as minister to France, after he had de- 
clined the secretaryship of the navy, and in 
1888 he was nominated as candidate for 
vice-president, with Harrison, and elected. 
In 1894 he was elected governor of New 
York over David B. Hill, and served one 
term. 

CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, one 
of the most talented and prominent 
educators this country has known, was born 
January 24, 1835, at Derby, Vermont. He 
received an elementary education in the 
common schools, and studied two terms in 
the Derby Academy. Mr. Adams moved 
with his parents to Iowa in 1856. He was 
very anxious to pursue a collegiate course, 
but this was impossible until he had attained 
the age of twenty-one. In the autumn of 
1856 he began the study of Latin and Greek 



at Denmark Academy, and in September, 
1857, he was admitted to the University of 
Michigan. Mr. Adams was wholly depend- 
ent upon himself for the means of his edu- 
cation. During his third and fourth year 
he became deeply interested in historical 
studies, was assistant librarian of the uni- 
versity, and determined to pursue a post- 
graduate course. In 1864 he was appointed 
instructor of history and Latin and was ad- 
vanced to an assistant professorship in 1865, 
and in 1867, on the resignation o\ Professoi 
White to accept the presidency of Cornell, 
he was appointed to fill the chair of profes- 
sor of history. This he accepted on con- 
dition of his being allowed to spend a year 
for special study in Germany, France and 
Italy. Mr. Adams returned in 186S, and 
assumed the duties of his professorship. 
He introduced the German system for the 
instruction of advanced history classes, and 
his lectures were largely attended. In 1885, 
on the resignation of President White at 
Cornell, he was elected his successor and 
held the office for seven years, and on Jan- 
uary 17, 1893, he was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the University of Wisconsin. Pres- 
ident Adams was prominently connected 
with numerous scientific and literary organ- 
izations and a frequent contributor to the 
historical and educational data in the peri- 
odicals and journals of the country. He 
was the author of the following: " Dem- 
ocracy and Monarchy in France," " Manual 
of Historical Literature," " A Plea for Sci- 
entific Agriculture," " Higher Education in 
Germany." 

JOSEPH B. FORAKER, a prom.inent po- 
litical leader and ex-governor of Ohio, 
was born near Rainsboro, Highland county, 
Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents operated 
a small farm, with a grist and sawmill, hav- 



144 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



ing emigrated hither from Virginia and 
Delaware on account of their distaste for 
slavery. 

Joseph was reared upon a farm until 
1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth 
Ohio Infantry. Later he was made ser- 
geant, and in 1S64 commissioned first lieu- 
tenant. The next year he was brevetted 
captain. At the age of nineteen he was 
mustered out of the army after a brilliant 
service, part of the time being on the staff 
of General Slocum. He participated in the 
battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount- 
ain and Kenesaw Mountain and in Sher- 
man's march to the sea. 

For two years subsequent to the war 
young Foraker was studying at the Ohio 
Wesleyan University at Delaware, but later 
went to Cornell University, at Unity, New 
York, from which he graduated July i, 
1869. He studied law and was admitted to 
the bar. In 1879 Mr. Foraker was elected 
judge of the superior court of Cincinnati 
and held the office for three years. In 1883 
he was defeated in the contest for the gov- 
ernorship with Judge Hoadly. In 1885, 
however, being again nominated for the 
same office, he was elected and served two 
terms. In 1889, in running for governor 
again, this time against James E. Camp- 
bell, he was defeated. Two years later his 
career in the United States senate began. 
Mr. Foraker was always a prominent figure 
at all national meetings of the Republican 
party, and a strong power, politically, in his 
native state. 



LYMAN ABBOTT, an eminent American 
preacher and writer on religious sub- 
jects, came of a noted New England 
family. His father. Rev. Jacob Abbott, was 
a prolific and popular writer, and his uncle, 
Rev. John S. C. Abbott, was a noted 



preacher and author. Lyman Abbott was 
born December 18, 1835, in Ro.xbury, 
Massachusetts. He graduated at the New 
York University, in 1853, studied law, and 
practiced for a time at the bar, after which 
he studied theology with his uncle, Rev. 
John S. C. Abbott, and in i860 was settled 
in the ministry at Terra Haute, Indiana, re- 
maining there until after the close of the 
war. He then became connected with the 
Freedmen's Commission, continuing this 
until 1868, when he accepted the pastorate 
of the New England Congregational church, 
in New York City. A few years later he re- 
signed, to devote his time principally to lit- 
erary pursuits. For a number of years he 
edited for the American Tract Society, its 
"Illustrated Christian Weekly," also the 
New York "Christian Union." He pro- 
duced many works, which had a wide circu- 
lation, among which may be mentioned the 
following: "Jesus of Nazareth, His Life and 
Teachings," "Old Testament Shadows of 
New Testament Truths," "Morning and 
Evening Exercises, Selected from Writings 
of Henry Ward Beecher," " Laicus, or the 
Experiences of a Layman in a Country 
Parish," "Popular Religious Dictionary," 
and "Commentaries on Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John and Acts." 



GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS.— The 
well-known author, orator and journal- 
ist whose name heads this sketch, was born 
at Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 
1824. Having laid the foundation of a 
most excellent education in his native land, 
he went to Europe and studied at the Uni- 
versity of Berlin. He made an extensive 
tour throughout the Levant, from which he 
returned home in 1850. At that early age 
literature became his field of labor, and in 
185 1 he published his first important work, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



145 



" Nile Notes of a Howadji." In 1852 two 
works issued from his facile pen, "The 
Howadji in Syria," and "Lotus-Eating." 
Later on he was the author of the well- 
known " Potiphar Papers," " Prue and L" 
and "Trumps." He greatly distinguished 
himself throughout this land as a lecturer 
on many subjects, and as an orator had but 
few peers. He was also well known as one 
of the most fluent speakers on the stump, 
making many political speeches in favor of 
the Republican party. In recognition of 
his valuable services, Mr. Curtis was ap- 
pointed by President Grant, chairman of 
the advisory board of the civil service. Al- 
though a life-long Republican, Mr. Curtis 
refused to support Blaine for the presidency 
in 1884, because of his ideas on civil ser- 
vice and other reforms. For his memorable 
and magnificent eulogy on Wendell Phillips, 
delivered in Boston, in 1884, that city pre- 
sented Mr. Curtis with a gold medal. 

George W. Curtis, however, is best 
known to the reading public of the United 
States by his connection with the Harper 
Brothers, having been editor of the " Har- 
per's Weekly," and of the "Easy Chair," 
in " Harper's Monthly Magazine, "for many 
years, in fact retaining that position until 
the day of his death, which occurred August 
3T, 1892. 

ANDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth 
president of the United States, served 
from 1865 to 1869. He was born Decem- 
ber 8, 1808, at Raleigh, North Carolina, 
and was left an orphan at the age of four 
years. He never attended school, and was 
apprenticed to a tailor. While serving his 
apprenticeship he suddenly acquired a pas- 
sion for knowledge, and learned to read. 
From that time on he spent all his spare 
time in reading, and after working for two 



years as a journeyman tailor at Lauren's 
Court House, South Carolina, he removed 
to Greenville, Tennessee, where he worked 
at his trade and was married. Under his 
wife's instruction he made rapid progress in 
his studies and manifested such an interest 
in local politics as to be elected as " work- 
ingmen's candidate " alderman in 1828, and 
in 1830 to the mayoralty, and was twice 
re-elected to each office. Mr. Johnson 
utilized this time in cultivating his talents 
as a public speaker, by taking part in a de- 
bating society. He was elected in 1835 to 
the lower house of the legislature, was re- 
elected in 1839 as a Democrat, and in 
1 841 was elected state senator. Mr. John- 
son was elected representative in congress 
in 1843 and was re-elected four times in 
succession until 1853, when he was the suc- 
cessful candidate for the gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. He was re-elected in 1855 
and in 1857 he entered the United States 
senate. In i860 he was supported by the 
Tennessee delegation to the Democratic 
convention for the presidential nomination, 
and lent his 'influence to the Breckinridge 
wing of the party. At the election of Lin- 
coln, which brought about the first attempt 
at secession in December, i860, Mr. John- 
son took a firm attitude in the senate for 
the Union. He was the leader of the loy- 
alists in East Tennessee. By the course 
that Mr. Johnson pursued in this crisis he 
was brought prominently before the north- 
ern people, and when, in March, 1862, he 
was appointed military governor of Ten- 
nessee with the rank of brigadier-general, 
he increased his popularity by the vigorous 
manner in which he labored to restore 
order. In the campaign of 1864 he was 
elected vice-president on the ticket with 
President Lincoln, and upon the assassi- 
nation of the latter he succeeded to the 



146 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



presidency, April 15, 1865. He retained 
the cabinet of President Lincoln, and at 
first exhibited considerable severity towards 
the former Confederates, but he soon inau- 
gurated a policy of reconstruction, pro- 
claimed a general amnesty to the late Con- 
federates, and established provisional gov- 
ernments in the southern states. These 
states claimed representation in congress in 
the following December, and then arose the 
momentous question as to what should be 
the policy of the victorious Union against 
their late enemies. The Republican ma- 
jority in congress had an apprehension that 
the President would undo the results of the 
war, and consequently passed two bills over 
the executive veto, and the two highest 
branches of the government were in open 
antagonism. The cabinet was reconstructed 
in July, and Messrs. Randall, Stanbury and 
Browning superseded Messrs. Denison, 
Speed and Harlan. In August, 1867, Pres- 
ident Johnson removed the secretary of war 
and replaced him with General Grant, but 
when congress met in December it refused 
to ratify the removal of Stanton, who re- 
sumed the functions of his office. In 1868 
the president again attempted to remove 
Stanton, who refused to vacate his post 
and was sustained by the senate. Presi- 
dent Johnson was accused by congress of 
high crimes and misdemeanors, but the trial 
resulted in his acquittal. Later he was Uni- 
ted States senator from Tennessee, and 
died July 31, 1875. 



EDMUND RANDOLPH, first attorney- 
general of the United States, was born 
in Virginia, August 10, 1753. His father, 
John Randolph, was attorney-general of 
Virginia, and lived and died a royalist. Ed- 
mund was educated in the law, but joined 
the army as aide-de-camp to Washington 



in 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He 
was elected to the Virginia convention in 
1776, and attorney-general of the state the 
same year. In 1779 he was elected to the 
Continental congress, and served four years 
in that body. He was a member of the con- 
vention in 1787 that framed the constitu- 
tion. In that convention he proposed what 
was known as the " Virginia plan" of con- 
federation, but it was rejected. He advo- 
cated the ratification of the constitution in 
the Virginia convention, although he had re- 
fused to sign it. He became governor of 
Virginia in 1788, and the next year Wash- 
ington appointed him to the office of at- 
torney-general of the United States upon 
the organization of the government under 
the constitution. He was appointed secre- 
tary of state to succeed Jefferson during 
Washington's second term, but resigned a 
year later on account of differences in the 
cabinet concerning the policy pursued to- 
ward the new French republic. He died 
September 12, 181 3. 



W INFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK was 
born in Montgomery county, Penn- 
sylvania, February 14, 1824. He received 
his early education at the Norristown 
Academy, in his native county, and, in 1840, 
was appointed a cadet in the United States 
Military Academy, at West Point. He was 
graduated from the latter in 1844, and brev- 
etted as second lieutenant of infantry. In 
1853 he was made first lieutenant, and two 
years later transferred to the quartermaster's 
department, with the rank of captain, and 
in 1S63 promoted to the rank of major. He 
served on the frontier, and in the war with 
Mexico, displaying conspicuous gallantry dur- 
ing the latter. lie also took a part in the 
Seminole war, and in the troubles in Kan- 
sas, in 1857, and in California, at the out- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



147 



break of the Civil war, as chief quarter- 
master of the Southern district, he exerted 
a powerful inliuence. In 1861 he applied 
for active duty in the field, and was assigned 
to the department of Iventucky as chief 
quartermaster, but before entering upon that 
duty, was appointed brigadier-general of 
volunteers. His subsequent history during 
the war was substantially that of the Army 
of the Potomac. He participated in the 
campaign, under McClellan, and led the 
gallant charge, which captured Fort Magru- 
der, won the day at the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, and by services rendered at 
Savage's Station and other engagements, 
won several grades in the regular service, 
and was recommended by McClellan for 
major-general of volunteers. He was a con- 
spicuous figure at South Mountain and An- 
tietam. He was commissioned major-gen- 
eral of volunteers, November 29, 1862, and 
made commander of the First Division of 
the Second Corps, which he led at Fred- 
ricksburg and at Chancellorsville. He was 
appointed to the command of the Second 
Corps in June, 1863, and at the battle of 
Gettysburg, July i, 2 and 3, of that year, 
took an important part. On his arrival on 
the field he found part of the forces then 
in retreat, but stayed the retrograde 
movement, checked the enemy, and on the 
following day commanded the left center, 
repulsed, on the third, the grand assault of 
General Lee's army, and was severely 
wounded. For his services on that field 
General Hancock received the thanks of 
congress. On recovering from his wound, 
he was detailed to go north to stimulate re- 
cruiting and fill up the diminished corps, and 
was the recipient of many public receptions 
and ovations. In March, 1864, he returned 
to his command, and in the Wilderness and 
at Spottsylvania led large bodies of men 



successfully and conspicuously. From that 
on to the close of the campaign he was a 
prominent figure. In November, 1864, he 
was detailed to organize the First Veteran 
Reserve Corps, and at the close of hostilities 
was appointed to the command of the Mid- 
dle Military Division. In July, 1866, he 
was made major-general of the regular 
service. He was at the head of various 
military departments until 1872, when he 
was assigned to the command of the Depart- 
ment of the Atlantic, which post he held 
until his death. In 1869 he declined the 
nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. 
He was the nominee of the Democratic 
party for president, in 1880, and was de- 
feated by General Garfield, who had a popu- 
lar majority of seven thousand and eighteen 
and an electoral majority .of fifty-nine. Gen- 
eral Hancock died February 9, 1886. 



THOMAS PAINE, the most noted polit- 
ical and deistical writer of the Revolu- 
tionary period, was born in England, Jan- 
uary 29, 1737, of Quaker parents. His edu- 
cation was. obtained in the grammar schools 
of Thetford, his native town, and supple- 
mented by hard private study while working 
at his trade of stay-maker at London and 
other cities of England. He was for a time 
a dissenting preacher, although he did not 
relinquish his employment. He married a 
revenue official's daughter, and was employed 
in the revenue service for some time. He 
then became a grocer and duringall this time 
he was reading and cultivating his literary 
tastes, and had developed a clear and forci- 
ble style of composition. He was chosen to 
represent the interests of the e.xcisemen, 
and published a pamphlet that brought 
him considerable notice. He was soon after- 
ward introduced to Benjamin Franklin, and 
having been dismissed from the service on a 



148 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



charge of smuggling, his resentment led him 
to accept the advice of that statesman to 
come to America, in 1774. He became 
editor of the " Pennsylvania Magazine," and 
the next year published his "Serious 
Thoughts upon Slavery " in the " Penn- 
sylvania Journal." His greatest political 
work, however, was written at the sugges- 
tion of Dr. Rush, and entitled " Common 
Sense." It was the most popular pamphlet 
written during the period and he received 
two thousand five hundred dollars from the 
state of Pennsylvania in recognition of its 
value. His periodical, the "Crisis," began 
in 1776, and its distribution among the 
soldiers did a great deal to keep up the spirit 
of revolution. He was made secretary of 
the committee of foreign affairs, but was dis- 
missed for revealing diplomatic secrets in 
one of his controversies with Silas Deane. 
He was originator and promoter of a sub- 
scription to relieve the distress of the soldiers 
near the close of the war, and was sent to 
France with Henry Laurens to negotiate the 
treaty with France, and was granted three 
thousand dollars by congress for his services 
there, and an estate at New Rochelle, by the 
state of New York. 

In 17S7, after the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war, he went to France, and a few 
years later published his " Rights of Man," 
defending the French revolution, which 
gave him great popularity in France. He 
was made a citizen and elected to the na- 
tional convention at Calais. He favored 
banishment of the king to America, and 
opposed his execution. He was imprisoned 
for about ten months during 1794 by the 
Robespierre party, during which time he 
wrote the "Age of Reason," his great deis- 
tical work. He was in danger of the guillo- 
tine for several months. He took up his 
residence with the family of James Monroe, 



then minister to France and was chosen 
again to the convention. He returned 
to the United States in 1802, and was 
cordial]}' received throughout the coun- 
try e.xcept at Trenton, where he was insulted 
by Federalists. He retired to his estate at 
New Rochelle, and his death occurred June 
8, 1809. 

JOHN WILLIAM MACKAY was one of 
<J America's noted men, both in the de- 
velopment of the western coast and the 
building of the Mackay and Bennett cable. 
He was born in 1831 at Dublin, Ireland; 
came to New York in 1840 and his boyhood 
days were spent in Park Row. He went 
to California some time after the argonauts 
of 1849 and took to the primitive methods 
of mining — lost and won and finally drifted 
into Nevada about 1S60. The bonanza dis- 
coveries which were to have such a potent 
influence on the finance and statesmanship 
of the day came in 1872. Mr. Mackay 
founded the Nevada Bank in 1878. He is 
said to have taken one hundred and 
fifty million dollars in bullion out of 
the Big Bonanza mine. There were as- 
sociated with him in this enterprise James 
G. Fair, senator from Nevada; William 
O'Brien and James C. Flood. When 
vast wealth came to Mr. Mackay he be- 
lieved it his duty to do his country some 
service, and he agitated in his mind the 
building of an American steamship line, 
and while brooding over this his attention 
was called to the cable relations between 
America and Europe. The financial man- 
agemient of the cable was selfish and ex- 
travagant, and the capital was heavy with 
accretions of financial " water" and to pay 
even an apparent dividend upon the sums 
which represented the nominal value of the 
cables, it was necessary to hold the rates 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



149 



at an exorbitant figure. And, moreover, 
the cables were foreign; in one the influence 
of France being paramount and in the other 
that of England; and in the matter of intel- 
ligence, so necessary in case of war, we 
would be at the mercy of our enemies. This 
train of thought brought Mr. Mackay into re- 
lation with James Gordon Bennett, the pro- 
prietor of the " New York Herald." The 
result of their intercourse was that Mr. Mac- 
kay so far entered into the enthusiasm of 
Mr. Bennett over an independent cable, 
that he offered to assist the enterprise with 
five hundred thousand dollars. This was the 
inception of the Commercial Cable Com- 
pany, or of what has been known for years 
as the Mackav-Bennett cable. 



ELISH.\ GRAY, the great inventor and 
electrician, was born August 2, 1835. 
at Barnesville, Belmont county, Ohio. He 
was, as a child, greatly interested in the 
phenomena of nature, and read with avidity 
all the books he could obtain, relating to 
this subject. He was apprenticed to various 
trades during his boyhood, but his insatiable 
thirst for knowledge dominated his life and 
he found time to study at odd intervals. 
Supporting himself by working at his trade, 
he found time to pursue a course at Oberlin 
College, where he particularly devoted him- 
self to the study of physicial science. Mr. 
Gray secured his first patent for electrical 
or telegraph apparatus on October i, 1867. 
His attention was first attracted to tele- 
phonic transmission during this year and he 
saw in it a way of transmitting signals for 
telegraph purposes, and conceived the idea 
of electro-tones, tuned to different tones in 
the scale. He did not then realize the im- 
portance of his invention, his thoughts being 
employed on the capacity of the apparatus 
for transmitting musical tones through an 



electric circuit, and it was not until 1874 
that he was again called to consider the re- 
production of electrically-transmitted vibra- 
tions through the medium of animal tissue. 
He continued experimenting with various 
results, which finally culminated in his 
taking out a patent for his speaking tele- 
phone on February 14, 1876. He took out 
fifty additional patents in the course of 
eleven years, among which were, telegraph 
switch, telegraph repeater, telegraph annun- 
ciator and typewriting telegraph. From 
1869 until 1873 he was employed in the 
manufacture of telegraph apparatus in Cleve- 
land and Chicago, and filled the office of 
electrician to the Western Electric Com- 
pany. He was awarded the degree of D. 
S. , and in 1874 he went abroad to perfect 
himself in acoustics. Mr. Gray's latest in- 
vention was known as the telautograph or 
long distance writing machine. Mr. Gray 
wrote and published several works on scien- 
tific subjects, among which were: "Tele- 
graphy and Telephony," and " Experi- 
mental Research in Electro-Harmonic Tele- 
graphy and Telephony." 



"\ Tl miTELAW REID.— Among the many 
V V men who have adorned the field of 
journalism in the United States, few stand 
out with more prominence than the scholar, 
author and editor whose name heads this ar- 
ticle. Born at Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, 
October 27, 1837, he graduated at Miami 
University in 1856. For about a year he 
was superintendent of the graded schools of 
South Charleston, Ohio, after which he pur- 
chased the "Xenia News," which he edited 
for about two years. This paper was the 
first one outside of Illinois to advocate the 
nomination of Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Reid 
having been a Republican since the birth of 
that party in 1856. After taking an active 



150 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



part in the campaign, in the winter of 1860- 
61, he went to the state capital as corres- 
pondent of three daily papers. At the close 
of the session of the legislature he became 
city editor of the "Cincinnati Gazette," 
and at the breaking out of the war went to 
the front as a correspondent for that journal. 
For a time he served on the staff of General 
Morris in West Virginia, with the rank of 
captain. Shortly after he was on the staff 
of General Rosecrans, and, under the name 
of "Agate," wrote most graphic descrip- 
tions of the movements in the field, espe- 
cially that of the battle ol Pittsburg Land-, 
ing. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Reid went 
to Washington and was appointed librarian 
to the house of representatives, and acted as 
correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette." 
His description of the battle of Gettysburg, 
written on the field, gained him added 
reputation. In 1865 he accompanied Chief 
Justice Chase on a southern tour, and pub- 
lished "After the War; a Southern Tour." 
During the next two years he was engaged 
in cotton planting in Louisiana and Ala- 
bama, and published "Ohio in the War. " 
In 1868 he returned to the " Cincinnati Ga- 
zette," becoming one of its leading editors. 
The same year he accepted the invitation of 
Horace Greeley and became one of the staff 
on the " New York Tribune." Upon the 
death of Mr. Greeley in 1872, Mr. Reid be- 
came editor and chief proprietor of that 
paper. In i 878 he was tendered the United 
States mission to Berlin, but declined. The 
offer was again made by the Garfield ad- 
ministration, but again he declined. In 
1878 he was elected by the New York legis- 
lature regent of the university, to succeed 
General John A. Dix. Under the Harrison 
administration he served as United States 
minister to France, and in 1892 was the 
Republican nominee for the vice-presidency 



of the United States. Among other works 
published by him were the " Schools of 
Journalism," "The Scholar in Politics," 
''Some Newspaper Tendencies," and 
' ' Town-Hall Suggestions. " 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD was one of 
the most powerful and effective preach- 
ers the world has ever produced, swaying 
his hearers and touching the hearts of im- 
mense audiences in a manner that has rarely 
been equalled and never surpassed. While 
not a native of America, yet much of his 
labor was spent in this country. He wielded 
a great influence in the United States in 
early days, and his death occurred here; so 
that he well deserves a place in this volume 
as one of the most celebrated men America 
has known. 

George Whitefield was born in the Bull 
Inn, at Gloucester, England, December 16, 
1 7 14. He acquired the rudiments of learn- 
ing in St. Mary's grammar school. Later 
he attended Oxford University for a time, 
where he became intimate with the Oxford 
Methodists, and resolved to devote himself 
to the ministry. He was ordained in the 
Gloucester Cathedral June 20, 1836, and 
the following day preached his first sermon 
in the same church. On that day there 
commenced a new era in Whitefield's life. 
He went to London and began to preach at 
Bishopsgate church, his fame soon spread- 
ing over the city, and shortly he was en- 
gaged four times on a single Sunday in ad- 
dressing audiences of enormous magnitude, 
and he preached in various parts of his native 
country, the people crowding in multitudes 
to hear him and hanging upon the rails and 
rafters of the churches and approaches there- 
to. He finally sailed for America, landing 
in Georgia, v,fhere he stirred the people to 
great enthusiasm. During the balance of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



153 



his life he divided his time between Great 
Britain and America, and it is recorded that 
he crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He 
came to America for the seventh time in 
1770. He preached every day at Boston 
from the 17th to the 20th of September, 
1770, then traveled to Newburyport, preach- 
ing at Exeter, New Hampshire, September 
29, on the way. That evening he went to 
Newburyport, where he died the next day, 
Sunday, September 30, 1770. 

' ' Whiteireld's dramatic power was amaz- 
ing, " says an eminent writer in describing 
him. " His voice was marvelously varied, 
and he ever had it at command — an organ, 
a flute, a harp, all in one. His intellectual 
powers were not of a high order, but he had 
an abundance of that ready talent and that 
wonderful magnetism which makes the pop- 
ular preacher; and beyond all natural en- 
dowments, there was in his ministry the 
power of evangelical truth, and, as his con- 
verts believed, the presence of the spirit of 
God." 

CHARLES FRANCIS BRUSH, one of 
•America's prominent men in the devel- 
opment of electrical science, was born March 
17, 1849, near Cleveland, Ohio, and spent 
his early life on his father's farm. From 
the district school at Wickliffe, Ohio, he 
passed to the Shaw Academy at Collamer, 
and then entered the high school at Cleve- 
land. His interest in chemistry, physics 
and engineering was already marked, and 
during his senior year he was placed in 
charge of the chemical and physical appar- 
atus. During these years he devised a plan 
for lighting street lamps, constructed tele- 
scopes, and his first electric arc lamp, also 
an electric motor. In September, 1867, he 
entered the engineering department of the 

University of Michigan and graduated in 




1869, which was a year in advance of his 
class, with the degree of M. E. He then 
returned to Cleveland, and for three years 
was engaged as an analytical chemist and 
for four years in the iron business. In 
1875 Mr. Brush became interested in elec- 
tric lighting, and in 1876, after four months' 
experimenting, he completed the dynamo- 
electric machine that has made his name 
famous, and in a shorter time produced the 
series arc lamps. These were both patent- 
ed in the United States in 1876, and he 
afterward obtained fifty patents on his later 
inventions, including the fundamental stor- 
age battery, the compound series, shunt- 
winding for dynamo-electric machines, and 
the automatic cut-out for arc lamps. His 
patents, two-thirds of which have already 
been profitable, are held by the Brush 
Electric Company, of Cleveland, while his 
foreign patents are controlled by the Anglo- 
American Brush Electric Light Company, 
of London. In 1880 the Western Reserve 
University conferred upon Mr. Brush the 
degree of Ph. D., and in 1881 the French 
government decorated him as a chevalier of 
the Legion of Honor. 



HENRY CLEWS, of Wall-street fame, 
was one of the noted old-time opera- 
tors on that famous street, and was also an 
author of some repute. Mr. Clews was 
born in Staffordshire, England, August 14, 
1840. His father had him educated with 
the intention of preparing him for the minis- 
try, but on a visit to the United States the 
young man became interested in a business 
life, and was allowed to engage as a clerk in 
the importing house of Wilson G. Hunt & 
Co., of New York. Here he learned the 
first principles of business, and when the war 
broke out in 1861 young Clews saw in the 
needs of the government an opportunity to 



154 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



reap a golden harvest. He identified him- 
self with the negotiating of loans for the 
government, and used his powers of pur- 
suasion upon the great money powers to 
convince them of the stability of the govern- 
ment and the value of its securities. By 
enthusiasm and patriotic arguments he in- 
duced capitalists to invest their money in 
government securities, often against their 
judgment, and his success was remarkable. 
His was one of the leading firms that aided 
the struggling treasury department in that 
critical hour, and his reward was great. In 
addition to the vast wealth it brought, 
President Lincoln and Secretary Chase 
both wrote important letters, acknowledging 
his valued service. In 1873, by the repu- 
diation of the bonded indebtedness of the 
state of Georgia, Mr. Clews lost six million 
dollars which he had invested in those se- 
curities. It is said that he is the only man, 
with one exception, in Wall street, who 
ever regained great wealth after utter dis- 
aster. His " Twenty-Eight Years in Wall 
Street " has been widely read. 



ALFRED VAIL was one of the men that 
gave to the world the electric telegraph 
and the names of Henry, Morse and Vail 
will forever remain linked as the prime fac- 
tors in that great achievement. Mr. Vail 
was born September 25, 1807, at Morris- 
town, New jersey, and was a son of Stephen 
Vail, the proprietor of the Speedwell Iron 
Works, near Morristown. At the age of 
seventeen, after he had completed his stud- 
ies at the Morristown Academy, Alfred Vail 
went into the Speedwell Iron Works and 
contented himself with the duties of his 
position until he reached his majority. He 
then determined to prepare himself for the 
ministry, and at the age of twenty-five he 
entered the University of the City of New 



York, where he was graduated in 1836. His 
health becoming impaired he labored for a 
time under much uncertainty as to his future 
course. Professor S. F. B. Morse had come 
to the university in 1835 ^s professor of lit- 
erature and fine arts, and about this time, 

1837, Professor Gale, occupying the chair 
of chemistry, invited Morse to exhibit his 
apparatus for the benefit of the students. 
On Saturday, September 2, 1837, the exhi- 
bition took place and Vail was asked to at- 
tend, and with his inherited taste for me- 
chanics and knowledge of their construction, 
he saw a great future for the crude mechan- 
ism used by Morse in giving and recording 
signals. Mr. Vail interested his father in 
the invention, and Morse was invited to 
Speedwell and the elder Vail promised to 
help him. It was stipulated that Alfred 
Vail should construct the required apparatus 
and exhibit before a committee of congress 
the telegraph instrument, and was to receive 
a quarter interest in the invention. Morse 
had devised a series of ten numbered leaden 
types, which were to be operated in giving 
the signal. This was not satisfactory to 
Vail, so he devised an entirely new instru- 
ment, involving a lever, or "point," on a 
radically different principle, which, when 
tested,' produced dots and dashes, and de- 
vised the famous dot-and-dash alphabet, 
misnamed the "Morse." At last the ma- 
chine was in working order, on January 6, 

1838. The machine was taken to Wash- 
ington, where it caused not only wonder, 
but excitement. Vail continued his experi- 
ments and devised the lever and roller. 
When the line between Baltimore and 
Washington was completed. Vail was sta- 
tioned at the Baltimore end and received 
the famous first message. It is a remarka- 
ble fact that not a single feature of the 
original invention of Morse, as formulated 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



155 



by his caveat and repeated in his original 
patent, is to be found in Vail's apparatus. 
From 1837 to 1844 it was a combination of 
the inventions of Morse, Henry and Vail, 
but the work of Morse fell gradually into 
desuetude, while Vail's conception of an 
alphabet has remained unchanged for half a 
century. Mr. Vail published but one work, 
"American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph," 
in 1S45, and died at Morristown at the com- 
paratively early age of fifty-one, on January 
19- 1859- 

ULYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Cler- 
mont county, Ohio. At the age of seven- 
teen he entered the United States Military 
Academy at West Point, from which he 
graduated in June, 1843, and was given his 
brevet as second lieutenant and assigned to 
the Fourth Infantry. He remained in the 
service eleven years, in which time he 
was engaged in the Me.xican war with gal- 
lantry, and was thrice brevetted for conduct 
in the field. In 1848 he married Miss Julia 
Dent, and in 1854, having reached the 
grade of captain, he resigned and engaged 
in farming near St. Louis. In i860 he en- 
tered the leather business with his father at 
Galena, Illinois. 

On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, 
he commenced to drill a company at Ga- 
lena, and at the same time offered his serv- 
ices to the adjutant-general of the army, 
but he had few influential friends, so re- 
ceived no answer. He was employed by 
the governor of Illinois in the organization 
of the various volunteer regiments, and at 
the end of a few weeks was given the 
colonelcy of the Twenty-first Infantry, from 
that state. His military training and knowl- 
edge soon attracted the attention of his su- 



perior officers, and on reporting to General 
Pope in Missouri, the latter put him in 
the way of advancement. August 7, 1861, 
he was promoted to the rank of brigadier- 
general of volunteers, and for a few weeks 
was occupied in watching the movements of 
partisan forces in Missouri. September i, 
the same year, he was placed in command 
of the Department of Southeast Missouri, 
with headquarters at Cairo, and on the 6th 
of the month, without orders, seized Padu- 
cah, which commanded the channel of the 
Ohio and Tennessee rivers, by which he se- 
cured Kentucky for the Union. He now 
received orders to make a demonstration on 
Belmont, which he did, and with about three 
thousand raw recruits held his own against 
the Confederates some seven thousand 
strong, bringing back about two hundred 
prisoners and two guns. In February, [1862, 
he moved up the Tennessee river with 
the naval fleet under Commodore Foote. 
The latter soon silenced Fort Henry, and 
Grant advanced against Fort Donelson and 
took their fortress and its garrison. His 
prize here consisted of sixty-five cannon, 
seventeen thousand six hundred stand of 
arms, and fourteen thousand six hundred 
and twenty-three prisoners. This was the 
first important success won by the Union 
forces. Grant was immediately made a 
major-general and placed in command of 
the district of West Tennessee. In April, 
1862, he fought the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
ing, and after the evacuation of Corinth by 
the enemy Grant became commander of the 
Department of the Tennessee. He now 
made his first demonstration toward Vicks- 
burg, but owing to the incapacity of subor- 
dinate officers, was unsuccessful. In Janu- 
ary, 1S63, he took command of all the 
troops in the Mississippi Valley and devoted 
several months to the siege of Vicksburg, 



156 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



which was finally taken possession of by him 
July 4, with thirty-one thousand six hundred 
prisoners and one hundred and seventy-two 
cannon, thus throwing the Mississippi river 
open to the Federals. He was now raised 
to the rank of major-general in the regular 
army. October following, at the head of 
the Department of the Mississippi, General 
Grant went to Chattanooga, where he over- 
threw the enemy, and united with the Army 
of the Cumberland. The remarkable suc- 
cesses achieved by him pointed Grant out 
for an appropriate commander of all na- 
tional troops, and in February, 1864, the 
rank of lieutenant-general was made for him 
by act of congress. Sending Sherman into 
Georgia, Sigel into the Valley of West Vir- 
ginia and Butler to attempt the capture of 
Richmond he fought his way through the 
Wilderness to the James and pressed the 
sieige of the capital of the Confederacy. 
After the fall of the latter Grant pressed 
the Confederate army so hard that their 
commander surrendered at Appomattox 
Court House, April 9, 1865. This virtually 
ended the war. 

After the war the rank of general was 
conferred upon U. S. Grant, and in 1868 he 
was elected president of the United States, 
and re-elected his own successor in 1872. 
After the expiration of the latter term he 
made his famous tour of the world. He died 
at Mt. McGregor, near Saratoga, New York, 
July 23, 1885, and was buried at Riverside 
Park, New York, where a magnificent tomb 
has been erected to hold the ashes of the 
nation's hero. 



JOHN MARSHALL, the fourth chief jus- 
tice of the United States supreme court, 
was born in Germantown, Virginia, Septem- 
ber 24, 1755 His father. Colonel Thomas 
Marshall, served with distinction in the Rev- 



olutionary war, while he also served from 
the beginning of the war until 1779, where 
he became noted in the field and courts 
martial. While on detached service he at- 
tended a course of law lectures at William 
and Mary College, delivered by Mr. Wythe, 
and was admitted to the bar. The next year 
he resigned his commission and began his 
career as a lawyer. He was a distinguished 
member of the convention called in Virginia 
to ratify the Federal constitution. He was 
tendered the attorney-generalship of the 
United States, and also a place on the su- 
preme bench, besides other places of less 
honor, all of which he declined. He 
went to France as special envoy in 1798, 
and the next year was elected to congress. 
He served one year and was appointed, first, 
secretary of war, and then secretary of state, 
and in 1801 was made chief justice of the 
United States. He held this high office un- 
til his death, in 1835. 

Chief Justice Marshall's early education 
was neglected, and his opinions, the most 
valuable in existence, are noted for depth 
of wisdom, clear and comprehensive reason- 
ing, justice, and permanency, rather than for 
wide learning and scholarly construction. 
His decisions and rulings are resorted to 
constantly by our greatest lawyers, and his 
renown as a just judge and profound jurist 
was world wide. 



LAWRENCE BARRETT is perhaps 
known more widely as a producer of 
new plays than as a great actor. He was 
born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1838, and 
educated himself as best he could, and at 
the age of sixteen years became salesman 
for a Detroit dry goods house. He after- 
wards began to go upon the stage as a 
supernumerary, and his ambition was soon 
rewarded by the notice of the management. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



157 



During the war of the Rebellion he was a 
soldier, and after valiant service for his 
country he returned to the stage. He went 
to Europe and appeared in Liverpool, and 
returning in 1869, he began playing at 
Booth's theater, with Mr. Booth. He was 
afterward associated with John McCullough 
in the management of the California 
theater. Probably the most noted period 
of his work was during his connection with 
Edwin Booth as manager of that great 
actor, and supporting him upon the stage. 
Mr. Barrett was possessed of the crea- 
tive instinct, and, unlike Mr. Booth, he 
sought new fields for the display of his 
genius, and only resorted to traditional 
drama in response to popular demand. He 
preferred new plays, and believed in the 
encouragement of modern dramatic writers, 
and was the only actor of prominence in his 
time that ventured to put upon the stage 
new American plays, which he did at his 
own expense, and the success of his experi- 
ments proved the quality of his judgment. 
He died March 21, iSgt. 



ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES, a cel- 
ebrated Catholic clergyman, was born 
at Annaboghan, Tyrone county, Ireland, 
June 24, 1797, and emigrated to America 
when twenty years of age, engaging for 
some time as a gardener and nurseryman. 
In 1 8 19 he entered St. Mary's College, 
where he secured an education, paying his 
way by caring for the college garden. In 
1825 he was ordained a deacon of the Ro- 
man Catholic church, and in the same year, 
a priest. Until 1838 he had pastoral charges 
in Philadelphia, where he founded St. John's 
Asylum in 1829, and a few years later es- 
tablished the "Catholic Herald." In 1838 
he was made bishop of Basileopolis /« parti- 
bus and coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, of 



New York, and in 1842 became bishop of 
New York. In 1839 he founded St. John's 
College, at Fordham. In 1850 he was 
made archbishop of New York. In 186 1-2 
he was a special agent of the United States 
in Europe, after which he returned to this 
country and remained until his death, Jan- 
uary 3, 1864. Archbishop Hughes early 
attracted much attention by his controver- 
sial correspondence with Rev. John Breck- 
inridge in 1833-35. He was a man of great 
ability, a fluent and forceful writer and an 
able preacher. 



RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES 
was the nineteenth president of the 
United States and served from 1877 to 1 88 1 . 
He was born October 4, 1822, at Delaware, 
Ohio, and his ancestry can be traced back 
as far as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford 
were two Scottish chieftans fighting side by 
side with Baliol, William Wallace and 
Robert Bruce. The Hayes family had for 
a coat of arms, a shield, barred and sur- 
mounted by a flying eagle. There was a 
circle of stars about the eagle, while on a 
scroll underneath was their motto, "Recte." 
Misfortune overtook the family and in 1680 
George Hayes, the progenitor of the Ameri- 
can family, came to Connecticut and settled 
at Windsor. Rutherford B. Hayes was 
a very delicate child at his birth and was 
not expected to live, but he lived in spite of 
all and remained at home until he was 
seven years old, when he was placed in 
school. He was a verytractablepupil, being 
always very studious, and in 1838 entered 
Kenyon College, graduating from the same 
in 1842. He then took up the study of law 
in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Colum- 
bus, but in a short time he decided to enter 
a law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
where for two years he was immersed in the 



158 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPflT. 



study of law. Mr. Hayes was admitted to 
the bar in 1845 '" Marietta, Ohio, and very 
soon entered upon the active practice of his 
profession with Ralph P. Buckland, of 
Fremont, Ohio. He remained there three 
years, and in 1849 removed to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where his ambition found a new 
stimulus. Two events occurred at this 
period that had a powerful influence on his 
afterlife. One was his marriage to Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, and the other was his 
introduction to a Cincinnati literary club, 
a body embracing such men as Salmon P. 
Chase, John Pope, and Edward F. Noyes. 
In 1856 he was nominated for judge of the 
court of common pleas, but declined, and 
two years later he was appointed city 
solicitor. At the outbreak of the Rebellion 
Mr. Hayes was appointed major of the 
Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, June 7, 1861, 
and in July the regiment was ordered to 
Virginia, and October 15, i86i,saw him 
promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his 
regiment. He was made colonel of the 
Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, but refused to 
leave his old comrades; and in the battle of 
South Mountain he was wounded very 
severely and was unable to rejoin his regi- 
ment until November 30, 1862. He had 
been promoted to the colonelcy of the 
regiment on October 15, 1862. In the 
following December he was appointed to 
command the Kanawa division and was 
given the rank of brigadier-general for 
meritorious services in several battles, and 
in 1864 he was brevetted major-general for 
distinguished services in 1864, during 
which campaign he was wounded several 
times and five horses had been shot under 
him. Mr. Hayes' first venture in politics 
was as a Whig, and later he was one of the 
first to unite with the Republican party. In 
J 864 he was elected from the Second Ohio 



district to congress, re-elected in 1866, 
and in 1867 was elected governor of Ohio 
over Allen G. Thurman, and was re-elected 
in 1869. Mr. Hayes was elected to the 
presidency in 1876, for the term of four 
years, and at its close retired to private life, 
and went to his home in Fremont, Ohio, 
where he died on January 17, 1S93. 



WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN became 
a celebrated character as the nominee 
of the Democratic and Populist parties for 
president of the United States in 1896. He 
was born March 19, i860, at Salem, Illi- 
nois. He received his early education in 
the public schools of his native county, and 
later on he attended the Whipple Academy 
at Jacksonville. He also took a course in 
Illinois College, and after his graduation 
from the same went to Chicago to study 
law, and entered the Union College of Law 
a= a student. He was associated with the 
late Lyman Trumbull, of Chicago, during 
his law studies, and devoted considerable 
time to the questions of government. He 
graduated from the college, was admitted to 
the bar, and went to Jacksonville, Illinois, 
where he was married to Miss Mary Eliza- 
beth Baird. In 1887 Mr. Bryan removed 
to Lincoln, Nebraska, and formed a law 
partnership with Adolphus R. Talbot. He 
entered the field of politics, and in 18S8 
was sent as a delegate to the state con- 
vention, which was to choose delegates to 
the national convention, during which he 
made a speech which immediately won him 
a high rank in political affairs. He declined, 
in the ne.xt state convention, a nomination 
for lieutenant-governor, and in 1890 he was 
elected congressman from the First district 
of Nebraska, and was the youngest member 
of the fifty-second congress. He cham- 
pioned the Wilson tariff bill, and served 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



159 



three terms in the house of representatives. 
He next ran for senator, but was defeated 
by John M. Thurston, and in 1896 he was 
:. elected by the Democratic and Populist 
parties as their nominee for the presidency, 
being defeated by William McKinley. 



wz 



ARVIN HUGHITT, one of America's 
ous railroad men, was born in 
Genoa, New York, and entered the railway 
service in 1856 as superintendent of tele- 
graph and trainmaster of the St. Louis, Al- 
ton & Chicago, now Chicago & Alton Rail- 
road. Mr. Hughitt was superintendent of 
the southern division of the Illinois Central 
Railroad from 1862 until 1864, and was, later 
on, the general superintendent of the road 
until 1870. He was then connected with 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road as assistant general manager, and re- 
tained this position until 1871, when he be- 
came the general manager of Pullman's 
Palace Car Company. In 1872 he was made 
general superintendent of the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad. He served during 
1876 and up to 1880 as general manager, 
and from 1880 until 1887 as vice-presi- 
dent and general manager. He was elected 
president of the road in 1887, in recog- 
nition of his ability in conducting the 
affairs of the road. He was also chosen 
Dresident of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minne- 
apolis & Omaha Railway; the Fremont, Elk- 
horn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and the 
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad, 
and his services in these capacities stamped 
him as one of the most able railroad mana- 
gers of his day. 



JOSEPH MEDILL, one of the most 
kJ eminent of American journalists, was 
born in New Brunswick, Canada, April 6, 
1823. In 1 83 1 his father moved to Stark 



county, Ohio, and until 1841 Joseph Medill 
worked on his father's farm. Later he 
studied law, and began the practice of that 
profession in 1846 at New Philadelphia, 
Ohio. But the newspaper field was more 
attractive to Mr. Medill, and three years 
^ater he founded a free-soil Whig paper at 
Coshocton, Ohio, and after that time jour- 
nalism received all his abilities. "The 
Leader, " another free-soil Whig paper, was 
founded by Mr. Medill at Cleveland in 1852. 
In that city he also became one of the first 
organizers of the Republican party. Shortly 
after that event he removed to Chicago and 
in 1855, with two partners, he purchased 
the " Chicago Tribune." In the contest for 
the nomination for the presidency in i860, 
Mr. Medill worked with unflagging zeal for 
Mr. Lincoln, his warm personal friend, and 
was one of the president's stanchest sup- 
porters during the war. Mr. Medill was a 
member of the Illinois Constitutional con- 
vention in 1870. President Grant, in 1871, 
appointed the editor a member of the fir.""- 
United States civil service commission, and 
the following year, after the fire, he was 
elected mayor of Chicago by a great ma- 
jority. During 1873 and 1874 Mr. Medill 
spent a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he purchased a controlling interest in the 
" Chicago Tribune." 



CLAUSSPRECKELS, the great " sugar 
baron," and one of the most famous 
representatives of commercial life in Amer- 
ica, was born in Hanover, Germany, and 
emigrated to the United States in 1840, 
locating in New York. He very soon be- 
came the proprietor of a small retail gro- 
cery store on Church street, and embarked 
on a career that has since astonished the 
world. He sold out his business and went 
to California with the argonauts of 1849, 



160 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



not as a prospector, but as a trader, and for 
years after his arrival on the coast he was 
still engaged as a grocer. At length, after a 
quarter of a century of fairly prosperous 
business life, he found himself in a position 
where an ordinary man would have retired, 
but Mr. Spreckles did not retire; he had 
merely been gathering capital for the real 
work of his life. His brothers had followed 
him to California, and in combination with 
them he purchased for forty thousand dollars 
an interest in the Albany Brewery in San 
Francisco. But the field was not extensive 
enough for the development of his business 
abilities, so Mr. Sprecklas branched out 
extensively in the sugar business. He suc- 
ceeded in securing the entire output of 
sugar that was produced on the Sand- 
wich Islands, and after 1885 was known as 
the "Sugar King of Sandv/ich Islands." 
He controlled absolutely the sugar trade of 
the Pacific coast which was known to be 
not less than ten million dollars a year. 



CHARLES HENRY PARKHURST, 
famous as a clergyman, and for many 
years president of the Society for the 
Prevention of Crime, was born April 17, 
1842, at Framingham, Massachusetts, of 
English descent. At the age of sixteen 
he was pupil in the grammar school at 
Clinton, Massachusetts, and for the ensu- 
ing two years was a clerk in a dry goods 
store, which position he gave up to prepare 
himself for college at Lancaster academy. 
Mr. Parkhurst went to Amherst in 1862, 
and after taking a thorough course he gradu- 
ated in 1866, and in 1867 became the prin- 
cipal of the Amherst High School. He re- 
tained this position until 1870, when he 
visited Germany with the intention of tak- 
ing a course in philosophy and theology, 
tut was forced to abandon this intention on 



account of illness in the family causing his 
early return from Eu-rope. He accepted the 
chair of Latin and Greek in Williston Semi- 
nary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, and re- 
mained there two years. He then accom- 
panied his wife to Europe, and devoted two 
years to study in Halle, Leipsic and Bonn. 
Upon his return home he spent considerable 
time in the study of Sanscrit, and in 1874 
he became the pastor of the First Congrega- 
tional church at Lenox, Massachusetts. He 
gained here his reputation as a pulpit ora- 
tor, and on March 9, 1S80, he became the 
pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian 
church of New York. He was, in 1890, 
made a member of the Society for the Pre- 
vention of Crime, and the same year be- 
came its president. He delivered a sermon 
in 1892 on municipal corruption, for which 
he was brought before the grand jury, which 
body declared his charges to be without suffi- 
cient foundation. But the matter did not end 
here, for he immediately went to work on a 
second sermon in which he substantiated his 
former sermon and wound up by saying, 
"I know, for I have seen." He was again 
summoned before that august body, and as 
a result of his testimony and of the investi- 
gation of the jurors themselves, the police 
authorities were charged with incompetency 
and corruption. Dr. Parkhurst was the 
author of the following works: "The Forms 
of the Latin Verb, Illustrated by Sanscrit," 
"The Blind Man's Creed and Other Ser- 
mons," "The Pattern on the Mount," and 
" Three Gates on a Side." 



HENRY BERGH, although a writer, 
diplomatist and government official, 
was noted as a philanthropist — the founder 
of the American Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals. On his labors for 
the dumb creation alone rests his fame. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



161 



Alone, in the face of indifference, opposition 
and ridicule, he began the reform which is 
now recognized as one of the beneficent 
movements of the age. Through his exer- 
tions as a speaker and lecturer, but above 
all as a bold worker, in the street, in the 
court room, before the legislature, the cause 
he adopted gained friends and rapidly in- 
creased in power until it has reached im- 
mense proportions and influence. The work 
of the society covers all cases of cruelty to 
all sorts of animals, employs every moral 
agency, social, legislative and personal, and 
touches points of vital concern to health as 
well as humanity. 

Henry Bergh was born in New York 
City in 1823, and was educated at Colum- 
bia College. In 1863 he was made secre- 
tary of the legation to Russia and also 
served as vice-consul there. He also de- 
voted some time to literary pursuits and was 
the author of "Love's Alternative," a 
drama; "Married Off," a poem; ""The 
Portentous Telegram, " "The Ocean Para- 
gon;" "The Streets of New York," tales 
and sketches. 



HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, one 
of the most eminent of American di- 
vines, wasborn in Adams, Jefferson county, 
New York, February 15, 1822. He was 
brought up in the mercantile business, and 
early in life took an active interest in polit- 
ical affairs. In 1847 he became a candidate 
for holy orders and pursued theological 
studies with Rev. W. D. Wilson, D. D., 
afterward professor in Cornell University. 
He was ordained deacon in 1849, in Trinity 
church, Geneva, New York, by Rt. Rev. 
W. H. De Lancey, D. D., and took charge 
of Zion church, Rome, New York, Decem- 
ber I, 1849. In 1850, our subject was or- 
dained priest by Bishop De Lancey. In 



1857 he became rector of the Church of the 
Holy Communion, Chicago. On the 30th 
of June, 1859, he was chosen bishop of 
Minnesota, and took charge of the interests 
of the Episcopal church in that state, being 
located at Faribault. In i860 Bishop 
Whipple, with Revs. I. L. Breck, S. W. 
Mauncey and E. S. Peake, organized the 
Bishop Seabury AKssion, out of which has 
grown the Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior, 
the Seabury Divinity School, Shattuck 
School and St. Mary's Hall, which have 
made Faribault City one of the greatest 
educational centers of the northwest. Bishop 
Whipple also became noted as the friend 
and defender of the North American In- 
dians and planted a number of successful 
missions among them. 



EZRA CORNELL was one of the greatest 
philanthropists and friends of education 
the country has known. He was born at 
Westchester Landing, New York, January 
II, 1807. He grew to manhood in his na- 
tive state and became a prominent figure in 
business circles as a successful and self-made 
man. Soon after the invention of the elec- 
tric telegraph, he devoted his attention to 
that enterprise, and accumulated an im- 
mense fortune. In 1865, by a gift of five 
hundred thousand dollars, he made possible 
the founding of Cornell University, which 
was named in his honor. He afterward 
made additional bequests amounting to many 
hundred thousand dollars. His death oc- 
curred at Ithaca, New York, December 9, 
1874. 

IGNATIUS DONNELLY, widely knowu 
1 as an author and politician, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3, 
1831. He was educated at the public 
schools of that city, and graduated from the 



162 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Central High School in 1849. He studied 
law in the cflice of Judge B. H. Brewster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In 
the spring of 1856, Mr. Donnelly emigrated 
^ to Minnesota, then a new territory, and, at 
Hastings, resumed the practice of law in 
partnership with A. M. Hayes. In 1857, 
and again in 1858, he was defeated for state 
senator, but in 1859 he was elected by the 
Republicans as lieutenant-governor, and re- 
elected in 1 86 1. In 1862 he was elected to 
represent the Second district of Minnesota 
in congress. He was re-elected to the same 
office in 1864 and in 1866. He was an 
abolitionist and warmly supported President 
Lincoln's administration, but was strongly 
in favor of leniency toward the people of 
the south, after the war. In many ways he 
was identified with some of the best meas- 
ures brought before the house during his 
presence there. In the spring of 1868, at 
the request of the Republican national com- 
mittee, he canvassed New Hampshire and 
Connecticut in the interests of that party. 
E. B. Washburne about this time made an 
attack on Donnelly in one of the papers of 
Minnesota, which was replied to on the floor 
of the house by a fierce phillipic that will 
long be remembered. Through the inter- 
vention of the Washburne interests Mr. Don- 
nelly failed of a re-election in 1870. In 
1873 he was elected to the state senate from 
Dakota county, and continuously re-elected 
until 1878. In 1886 he was elected mem- 
ber of the house for two years. In later 
years he identified himself with the Popu- 
list party. 

In 1882, Mr. Donnelly became known as 
an author, publishing his first literary work, 
"Atlantis, the Antediluvian World," which 
passed through over twenty-two editions in 
America, several in England, and was trans- 
lated into French. This was followed by 



" Ragnarok, the Age of Fire and Gravel," 
which attained nearly as much celebrity as 
the first, and these two, in the opinion of 
scientific critics, are sufficient to stamp the 
author as a most capable and painstaking 
student of the facts he has collated in them. 
The work by which he gained the greatest 
notoriety, however, was "The Great Cryp- 
togram, or Francis Bacon's Cipher in the 
Shakespeare Plays." "Caesar's Column," 
" Dr. Huguet," and other works were pub- 
lished subsequently. 



STEVEN V. WHITE, a speculator of 
Wall Street of national reputation, was 
born in Chatham county, North Carolina, 
August I, 1 83 1, and soon afterward re- 
moved to Illinois. His home was a log 
cabin, and until his eighteenth year he 
worked on the farm. Then after several 
years of struggle with poverty he graduated 
from Knox College, and went to St. Louis, 
where he entered a wholesale boot and shoe 
house as bookkeeper. He then studied law 
and worked as a reporter for the "Missouri 
Democrat." After his admission to the bar 
he went to New York, in 1865, and became 
a member of the banking house of Marvin 
& White. Mr. White enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of having engineered the only corner 
in Wall Street since Commodore Vander- 
bilt's time. This was the famous Lacka- 
wanna deal in 1883, in which he made a 
profit of two million dollars. He was some- 
times called " Deacon" White, and, though 
a member for many years of the Plymouth 
church, he never held that office. Mr. 
White was one of the most noted characters 
of the street, and has been called an orator, 
poet, philanthropist, linguist, abolitionist, 
astronomer, schoolmaster, plowboy, and 
trapper. He was a lawyer, e.x-congress- 
man, expert accountant, art critic andtheo- 



COMPEXDIC'M or BIOGRAPHT. 



J 63 



lOgian. He laid the foundation for a 
"Home for Colored People," in Chatham 
county, North Carolina, where the greater 
part of his father's life was spent, and in 
whose memory the work was undertaken. 



JAMES A. GARFIELD, the twentieth 
president of the United States, was born 
November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga county, 
Ohio, and was the son of Abram and Eli^a 
(Baliou) Garfield. In 1833 the father, an 
industrious pioneer farmer, died, and the 
care of the family devolved upon Thomas, 
to whom James became deeply indebted for 
educational and other advantages. As James 
grew up he was industrious and worked on 
the farm, at carpentering, at chopping wood, 
or anything else he found to do, and in the 
meantime made the most of his books. 

Until he was about sixteen, James' high- 
est ambition was to become a sea captain. 
On attaining that age he walked to 
Cleveland, and, not being able to find work, 
he engaged as a driver on the Ohio & Penn- 
sylvania canal, but quit this after a short 
time. He attended the seminary at Ches- 
ter for about three years, after which he 
entered Hiram Institute, a school started by 
the Discifiles of Christ in 1S50. In order 
to pay his way he assumed the duties of 
janitor and at times taught school. After 
completing. his course at the last named edu- 
cational institution he entered Williams Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1856. He 
afterward returned to Hiram College as its 
president. He studied law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858, 
Mr. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph were 
married. 

In 1859 Mr. Garfield made his first polit- 
ical speeches, at Hiram and in the neighbor- 
hood. The same year he was elected to the 
state senate. 



On the breaking out of the war, in 1 86 r , 
he became lieutenant-colonel of the Forty- 
second Ohio Infantry, and, while but a ne^' 
soldier, was given command of four regi- 
ments of infantry and eight companies of 
cavalr}', with which he drove the Confeder- 
ates under Humphrey Marshall out of Ken 
tucky. January 11, 1862, he was commis- 
sioned brigadier-general. He participated 
with General Buell in the battle of Shiloh 
and the operations around Corinth, and was 
then detailed as a member of the Fitz John 
Porter court-martial. Reporting to General 
Rosecrans, he was assigned to the position 
of chief of staff, and resigned his position, 
with the rank of major-general, when his 
immediate superior was superseded. In 
the fall of 1862 Mr. Garfield was elected to 
congress and remained in that body, either 
in the house or senate, until 1880. 

June 8, 1880, at the national Republican 
convention, held in Chicago, General Gar- 
field was nominated for the presidency, and 
was elected. He was inaugurated March 
4, 1 88 1, but, July 2, following, he was shot 
and fatally wounded by Charles Guiteau for 
some fancied political slight, and died Sep- 
tember 19, 1 88 1. 



INCREASE M.ATHER was ane of the 
1 most prominent preachers, educators and 
authors of early times in the Nev-f England 
states. He was born at Dorchester. Massa- 
chusetts, June 21, 1639, and was g-ven an 
excellent education, graduating at Harvard 
in 1656, and at Trinity College, Du'nlin, 
two years later. He was ordained a min- 
ister, and preached in England and America, 
and in 1664 became pastor of the North 
church, in Boston. In 1685 he became 
president of Harvard University, serving 
until 1 70 1. In 1692 he received the first 
doctorate in divinity conferred in English 



164 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



speaking America. The same year he pro- 
cured in England a new charter for Massa- 
chusetts, which conferred upon himself the 
power of naming the governor, lieutenant- 
governor and council. He opposed the 
severe punishment of witchcraft, and took 
a prominent part in all public affairs of his 
day. He was a prolific writer, and became 
the author of nearly one hundred publica- 
tions, large and small. His death occurred 
August 23, 1723, at Boston. 



COTTON MATHER, a celebrated minis- 
ter in the "Puritan times" of New 
England, was born at Boston, Massachu- 
setts, February 12, 1663, being a son of 
Rev. Increase Mather, and a grandson of 
John Cotton. A biography of his father 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 
Cotton Mather received his early education 
in his native city, was trained by Ezekiel 
Cheever, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1678; became a teacher, and in 1684 
was ordained as associate pastor of North 
church, Boston, with his father, having by 
persistent effort overcome an impediment in 
his speech. He labored with great zeal as 
a pastor, endeavoring also, to establish the 
ascendancy of the church and ministry in 
civil affairs, and in the putting down of 
witchcraft by legal sentences, a work in 
which he took an active part and through 
which he is best known in history. He re- 
ceived the degree of D. D. in 17 10, con- 
ferred by the University of Glasgow, and 
F. R. S. in 17 1 3. His death occurred at 
Boston, February 13, 1728. He was the 
author of many publications, among which 
were " Memorable Providences Relating to 
Witchcraft," "Wonders of the Invisible 
World," "Essays to Do Good," " Mag- 
nalia Christi Americana," and " Illustra- 
tions of the Sacred Scriptures." Some of 



these works are quaint and curious, full of 
learning, piety and prejudice. A well- 
known writer, in summing up the life and 
character of Cotton Mather, says: ' ' Mather, 
with all the faults of his early years, was s 
man of great excellence of character. He 
labored zealously for the benefit of the 
poor, for mariners, slaves, criminals and 
Indians. His cruelty and credulity were 
the faults of his age, while his philanthro- 
phy was far more rare in that age than in 
the present. " 

WILLIAM A. PEFFER, who won a 
national reputation during the time 
he was in the United States senate, was 
born on a farm in Cumberland county, 
Pennsylvania, September 10, 1831. He 
drew his education from the public schools 
of his native state and at the age of fifteen 
taught school in winter, working on a farm 
in the summer. In June, 1853, while yet a 
young man, he removed to Indiana, and 
opened up a farm in St. Joseph county. 
In 1S59 he made his way to Missouri and 
settled on a farm in Morgan county, but on 
account of the war and the unsettled state 
of the country, he moved to Illinois in Feb- 
ruary, 1S62, and enlisted as a private in 
Company F, Eighty-third Illinois Infantry, 
the following August. He was promoted 
to the rank of second lieutenant in 
March, 1863, and served successively as 
quartermaster, adjutant, post adjutant, 
judge advocate of a military commission, 
and depot quartermaster in the engineer 
department at Nashville. He was mustered 
out of the service June 26, 1865. He had, 
during his leisure hours while in the army, 
studied law, and in August, 1865, he com- 
menced the practice of that profession at 
Clarksville, Tennessee. He removed to 
Kansas in 1870 and practiced there until 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



165 



1878, in the meantime establishing and 
conducting two newspapers, the " Fredonia 
Journal " and " Coffeyville Journal." 

Mr. Peffer was elected to the state senate 
in 1874 and was a prominent and influential 
member of several important committees. 
He served as a presidential elector in 1880. 
The year following he became editor of the 
" Kansas Farmer," which he made a promi- 
nent and useful paper. In 1890 Mr. Peffer 
was elected to the United States senate as 
a member of the People's party and took 
his seat March 4, 1891. After six years of 
service Senator Peffer was succeeded in 
March, 1897, by William A. Harris. 



ROBERT MORRIS.— The name of this 
financier, statesman and patriot is 
closely connected with the early history of 
the United States. He was a native of 
England, born January 20, 1734, and came 
to America with his father when thirteen 
years old. Until 1754 he served in the 
counting house of Charles Willing, then 
formed a partnership with that gentleman's 
son, which continued with great success until 
1793. In 1776 Mr. Morris wis a delegate 
to the Continental congress, and, although 
once voting against the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, signed that paper on its adop- 
tion, and was several times thereafter re- 
elected to congress. During the Revolu- 
tionary war the services of Robert Morris 
in aiding the government during its finan- 
cial difficulties were of incalculable value; he 
freely pledged his personal credit for sup- 
plies for the army, atone time to the amount 
of about one and a half million dollars, with- 
out which the campaign of 1781 would have 
been almost impossible. Mr. Morris was 
appointed superintendent of finance in 178! 
and served until 1784, continuing to employ 
his personal credit to facilitate the needs of 



his department. He also served as mem- 
ber of the Pennsylvania legislature, and 
from 1786 to 1795 was United States sena- 
tor, declining meanwhile the position of sec- 
retary of the treasury, and suggesting the 
name of Alexander Hamilton, who was ap- 
pointed to that post. During the latter 
part of his life Mr. Morris was engaged ex- 
tensively in the China trade, and later be- 
came involved in land speculations, which 
ruined him, so that the remaining days of 
this noble man and patriot were passed 
in confinement for debt. His death occurred 
at Philadelphia, May 8, 1806. 



WILLIAM SHARON, a senator and 
capitalist, and mine owner of na- 
tional reputation, was born at Smithfield, 
Ohio, January 9, 1821. He was reared 
upon a farm and in his boyhood given excel- 
lent educational advantages and in 1842 
entered Athens College. He remained in 
that institution about two years, after which 
he studied law with Edwin M. Stanton, and 
was admitted to the bar at St. Louis and 
commenced practice. His health failing, 
however, he abandoned his profession and 
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Carrollton, 
Greene county, Illinois. During the time 
of the gold excitement of 1849, Mr. Sharon 
went to California, whither so many went, 
and engaged in business at Sacramento. 
The next year he removed to San Francisco, ' 
where he operated in real estate. Being 
largely interested in its silver mines, he re- 
moved to Nevada, locating at Virginia City, 
and acquired an immense fortune. He be- 
came one of the trustees of the Bank of 
California, and during the troubles that 
arose on the death of William Ralston, the 
president of that institution, was largely in- 
strumental in bringing its affairs into a satis- 
factory shape. 



166 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAP/IK 



Mr. Sharon was elected to represent the 
state of Nevada in the United States senate 
in 1875, and remained a member of that 
body until 1881. He was always distin- 
guished for close application to business. 
Senator Sharon died November 13, 1885. 



HENRY W. SHAW, an American hu- 
morist who became celebrated unde^ 
the non-dc-plniiic of " Josh Billings," gained 
his fame from the witticism of his writing, 
and peculiar eccentricity of style and spell- 
ing. He was born at Lanesborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1818. For twenty-five years 
he lived in different parts of the western 
states, follovving various lines of business, 
including farming and auctioneering, and in 
the latter capacity settled at Poughkeepsie, 
New York, in 1858. In 1863 he began 
writing humorous sketches for the news- 
papers over the signature of "Josh Bill- 
ings," and became immediately popular 
both as a writer and lecturer. He pub- 
lished a number of volumes of comic 
sketches and edited an " Annual AUminax " 
for a number of years, which had a wide cir- 
culation. His death occurred October 14, 
1885, at Monterey. California. 



JOHN M. THURSTON, well known 
throughout this country as a senator 
and political leader, was born at Mont- 
pelier, Vermont, August 21, 1847, of an 
old Puritan family which dated back their 
ancestry in this country to 1636, and among 
whom were soldiers of the Revolution and 
of the war of 1812-15. 

Young Thurston was brought west by 
the family in 1854, they settling at Madison, 
Wisconsin, and two years later at Beaver 
Dam, where John M. received his schooling 
in the public schools and at Wayland Uni- 
versity. His father enlisted as a private in 



the First Wisconsin Cavalry and died while 
in the service, in the spring of 1863. 

Young Thurston, thrown on his own 
resources while attaining an education, sup- 
ported himself by farm work, driving team 
and at other manual labor. ' He studied law 
and was admitted to the bar May 21, 1869, 
and in October of the same year located in 
Omaha, Nebraska. He v/as elected a 
member of the city council in 1872, city 
attorney in 1874 and a member of the Ne- 
braska legislature in 1874. He was a mem- 
ber of the Republican national convention 
of 1884 and temporary chairman of that of 
1888. Taking quite an interest in the 
younger members of his party he was instru- 
mental in forming the Republican League 
of the United States, of which he was presi- 
dent for two years. He was then elected a 
member of the United States senate, in 
1895, to represent the state of Nebraska. 

As an attorney John M. Thurston occu- 
pied a very prominent place, and for a num- 
ber of years held the position of general 
solicitor of the Union Pacific railroad sys- 
tem. 

TOHN JAMES AUDUBON, a celebrated 
kJ American naturalist, was born in Louis- 
iana, May 4, 1780, and was the son of an 
opulent French naval officer who owned a 
plantation in the then French colony. In 
his childhood he became deeply interested 
in the study of birds and their habits. About 
1794 he was sent to Paris, France, where 
he was partially educated, and studied de- 
signing under the famous painter, Jacques 
Louis David. He returned to the Unit- 
ed States about 1798, and settled on a 
farm his father gave him, on the Perkiomen 
creek in eastern Pennsylvania. He mar- 
ried Lucy Bakewell in 1808, and, disposing 
of his property, removed to Louisville, Ken- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



167 



tucky, where he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits. About two years later he began to 
make extensive excursions through the pri- 
meval forests of the southern and south- 

• 

western states, in the exploration of which 
he passed many years. He made colored 
drawings of all the species of birds that he 
found. For several years he made his home 
with his wife and children at Henderson, on 
the Ohio river. It is said that about this 
time he had failed in business and v.'as re- 
duced to poverty, but kept the wolf from the 
door by giving dancing lessons and in portrait 
painting. In 1824, at Philadelphia, he met 
Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who encouraged 
him to publish a work on ornithology. Two 
years later he went to England and com- 
menced the publication of his great work, 
"The Birds of America." He obtained a 
large number of subscribers at one thousand 
dollars a copy. This work, embracing five 
volumes of letterpress and five volumes of 
beautifully colored plates, was pronounced 
by Cuvier " the most magnificent monument 
that art ever raised to ornithology." 

Audubon returned to America in 1829, 
and explored the forests, lakes and coast 
from Canada to Florida, collecting material 
for another work. This was his " Ornitho- 
logical Biography; or. An Account of the 
Habits of the Birds of the United States, 
Etc." He revisited England in 1831, and 
returned in 1839, after which he resiaed on 
the Hudson, near New York City, in which 
place he died January 27, 185 1. During 
his life he issued a cheaper edition of his 
great work, and was, in association with 
Dr. Bachman, preparing a work on the 
quadrupeds of North America. 



the superior British squadron, under Com- 
modore Downie, September II, 1814. Com- 
modore McDonough was born in Newcastle 
county, Delaware, December 23, 1783, and 
when seventeen years old entered the 
United States navy as midshipman, serving 
in the expedition to Tripoli, under Decatur, 
in 1803-4. In 1807 he was promoted to 
lieutenant, and in July, 181 3, was made a 
commander. The following year, on Lake 
Champlain, he gained the celebrated victory 
above referred to, for which he was again 
promoted; also received a gold medal from 
congress, and from the state of Vermont an 
estate on Cumberl-and Head, in view of the 
scene of the engagement. His death oc- 
curred at sea, November 16, 1825, while he 
was returning from the command of the 
Mediterranean squadron. 



COMMODORE THOMAS McDON- 
OUGH gained his principal fame from 
he celebrated victory which he gained over 



CHARLES FRANCIS HALL, one of 
America's most celebrated arctic ex- 
plorers, was born in Rochester, New Hamp- 
shire, in 1 82 1. He was a blacksmith by 
trade, and located in Cincinnati, where later 
he became a journalist. For several years 
he devoted a great deal of attention to cal- 
orics. Becoming interested in the fate of the 
explorer. Sir John Franklin, he joined the 
expedition fitted out by Henry Grinnell and 
sailed in the ship "George Henry," under 
Captain Buddington, which left New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, in i860. He returned in 
1862, and two years later published his 
" Arctic Researches." He again joined the 
expedition fitted out by Mr. Grinnell, and 
sailed in the ship, " Monticello," under 
Captain Buddington, this time remaining in 
the arctic region over four years. On his 
return he brought back many evidences of 
having found trace of Franklin. 

In 1 87 1 the " Polaris " was fitted out by 
the United States government, and Captain 



168 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Hall again sailed for the polar regions. He 
died in Greenland in October, 1871, and the 
"Polaris" was finally abandoned by the 
crew, a portion of which, under Captain 
Tyson, drifted with the icebergs for one 
hundred and ninety-five days, until picked 
up by the " Tigress," on the 30lh of April, 
1873. The other portion of the crew built 
boats, and, after a perilous voyage, were 
picked up in June, 1 873, by a whaling vessel. 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH, the third chief 
justice of the United States, was born 
at Windsor, Connecticut, April 29, 1745. 
After graduating from Princeton, he took 
up the study of law, and was licensed 
to practice in 177 1. In 1777 he was elected 
as a delegate to the Continental congress. 
He was judge of the superior court of his 
state in 1784, and was chosen as a delegate 
to the constitutional convention in 1787. 
He sided with the Federalists, was elected 
to the United States senate in 1789, and 
was a firm supporter of Washington's policy. 
He won great distinction in that body, and 
was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court of the United States by Washington 
in 1796. The relations between this coun- 
try and France having become violently 
strained, he was sent to Paris as envoy ex- 
traordinary in 1799, and was instrumental 
in negotiating the treaty that averted war. 
He resigned the following year, and was suc- 
ceeded by Chief Justice Marshall. His 
death occurred November 26, 1807. 



MELLVILLE WESTON FULLER, an 
eminent American jurist and chief 
justice of the United States supreme court, 
was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1833. His 
education was looked after in boyhood, and 
at the age of si.xteen he entered Bowdoin 
College, and on graduation entered the law 



department of Harvard University. He then 
entered the law office of his uncle at Ban- 
gor, Maine, and soon after opened an office 
for the practice of law at Augusta. He was 
an alderman from his ward, city attorney, 
and editor of the " Age." a rival newspaper 
of the "Journal," which was conducted by 
James G. Blaine. He soon decided to re- 
move to Chicago, then springing into notice 
as a western metropolis. He at once iden- 
tified himself with the interests of the 
new city, and by this means acquired an 
experience that fitted him for his future 
work. He devoted himself assiduously to 
his profession, and had the good fortune to 
connect himself with the many suits grow- 
ing out of the prorogation of the Illinois 
legislature in 1863. It was not long before 
he became one of the foremost lawyers in 
Chicago. He made a three days' speech in 
the heresy trial of Dr. Cheney, which added 
to his fame. He was appointed chief jus- 
tice of the United States by President Cleve- 
land in 1888, the youngest man who ever 
held that exalted position. His income from 
his practice had for many years reached 
thirty thousand dollars annually. 



CHESTER ALLEN ARTHUR, twenty- 
first president of the United States, was 
born in Franklin county, Vermont, Octo- 
ber 5, 1830. He was educated at Union 
College, Schenectady, New York, from 
which he graduated with honor, and en- 
gaged in teaching school. After two years 
he entered the law office of Judge E. D. 
Culver, of New York, as a student. He was 
admitted to the bar, and formed a partner- 
ship with an old room-mate, Henry D. Gar- 
diner, with the intention of practicing law 
in the west, but after a few months' search 
for a location, they returned to New York 
and opened an office, and at once entered 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



109- 



upon a profitable practice. He was shortly 
afterwards married to a daughter of Lieu- 
tenant Herndon, of the United States navy. 
Mrs. Arthur died shortly before his nomina- 
tion for the vice-presidency. In 1856 a 
colored woman in New York was ejected 
from a street car and retained Mr. Arthur 
in a suit against the company, and obtained 
a verdict of five hundred dollars. It result- 
ed in a general order by all superintendents 
of street railways in the city to admit col- 
ored people to the cars. 

Mr. Arthur was a delegate to the first 
Republican national convention, and was 
appointed judge-advocate for the Second 
Brigade of New York, and then chief engi- 
neer of Governor Morgan's staff. At the 
close of his term he resumed the practice of 
law in New York. In 1872 he was made 
collector of the port of New York, which 
position he held four years. At the Chi- 
cago convention in 1880 Mr. Arthur was 
nominated for the vice-presidency with 
Garfield, and after an exciting campaign 
was elected. Four months after the inau- 
guration President Garfield was assassinated, 
and Mr. Arthur was called to take the reins 
of government. His administration of 
affairs was generally satisfactory. At its 
close he resumed the practice of law in New 
York. His death occurred November 18, 
1886. 

ISAAC HULL was one of the most con- 
spicuous and prominent naval officers in 
the early history of America. He was born 
at Derby, Connecticut, March 9, 1775, be- 
ing the son of a Revolutionary officer. Isaac 
Hull early in life became a mariner, and 
when nineteen years of age became master 
of a merchant ship in the London trade. 
In 1 798 he became a lieutenant in the United 

States navy, and three years later was made 
10 



first lieutenant of the frigate ' ' Constitution. " 
He distinguished himself by skill and valor 
against the French on the coast of Hayti, and 
served with distinction in the Barbary expe- 
ditions. July 12, 1812, he sailed from 
Annapolis, in command of the "Constitu- 
tion," and for three days was pursued by a 
British squadron of five ships, from which 
he escaped by bold and ingenious seaman- 
ship. In August of the same year he cap- 
tured the frigate " Guerriere," one of his 
late pursuers and for this, the first naval 
advantage of that war, he received a gold 
medal from congress. Isaac Hull was later 
made naval commissioner and had command 
of various navy yards. His death occurred 
February 13, 1843, at Philadelphia. 



M' 



ARCUS ALONZO HANNA, famous 
as a prominent business man, political 
manager and senator, was born in New Lis- 
bon, Columbiana county, Ohio, September 
24, 1837. He removed with his father's 
family to Cleveland, in the same state, in 
1852, and in the latter city, and in the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio, 
received his education. He became an em- 
ploye of the wholesale grocery house of 
Hanna, Garrettson & Co., his father being 
the senior member of the firm. The latter 
died in 1862, and Marcus represented his 
interest until 1867, when the business was 
closed up. 

Our subject then became a member of 
the firm of Rhodes & Co., engaged in the 
iron and coal business, but at the expira- 
tion of ten years this firm was changed to 
that of M. A. Hanna & Co. Mr. Hanna 
was long identified with the lake carrying 
business, being interested in vessels on the 
lakes and in the construction of them. As 
a director of the Globe Ship Manufacturing 
Company, of Cleveland, president of the 



170 



COMPENDIUM or BIOGRAPIir 



Union National Bank, of Cleveland, president 
of the Cleveland City Railway Company, 
and president of the Chapin Mining Com- 
pany, oi Lake Superior, he became promi- 
nently identified with the business world. 
He was one of the government directors of 
the Union Pacific Railroad, being appointed 
to that position in 1885 b}' President Cleve- 
land. 

Mr. Hanna was a delegate to the na- 
tional Republican convention of 1884, which 
was his first appearance in the political 
world. He was a delegate to the con- 
ventions of 1888 and 1896, and was elect- 
ed chairman of the Republican national 
conmiittee the latter year, and practically 
managed the campaign of William McKin- 
ley for the presidency. In 1897 Mr. Hanna 
was appointed senator by Governor Bush- 
nell, of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by 
the resignation of John Sherman. 



GEORGE PEABODY was one of the 
best known and esteemed of all philan- 
thropists, whose munificent gifts to Ameri- 
can institutions have proven of so much 
benefit to the cause of humanity. He was 
born February 18, 1795, at South Danvers, 
Massachusetts, which is now called Pea- 
body in honor of him. He received but a 
meager education, and during his early life 
he was a mercantile clerk at Thetford, Ver- 
mont, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. In 
1 8 14 he became a partner with Elisha 
Riggs, at Georgetown, District of Columbia, 
and in 1 8 1 5 they moved to Baltimore, Mary- 
Ian J. The business grew to great propor- 
tions, and they opened branch houses at 
New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Peabody 
made several voyages to Europe of com- 
mercial importance, and in 1829 became the 
head of the linn, which was then called 
Peabody, Riggs & Co., and in 1838 he re- 



moved to London, England. He retired 
from the firm, and established the cele- 
brated banking house, in which he accumu- 
lated a large fortune. He aided Mr. Grin- 
nell in fitting out Dr. Kane's Arctic expedi- 
tion, in 1852, and founded in the same year 
the Peabody Institute, in his native town, 
which he afterwards endowed with two hun- 
dred thousand dollars. Mr. Peabody visited 
the United States in 1857, and gave three 
hundred thousand dollars for the establish- 
ment at Baltimore of an institute of science, 
literature and fine arts. In 1 862 he gave 
two million five hundred thousand dollars 
for the erecting of lodging houses for the 
poor in London, and on another visit to tlie 
United States he gave one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars to establish at Harvard a 
museum and professorship of American 
archaeology and ethnology, an equal sum for 
the endowment of a department of physical 
science at Yale, and gave the "Southern 
Educational Fund " two million one hundred 
thousand dollars, besides devoting two hun- 
dred thousand dollars to various objects of 
public utility. Mr. Peabody made a final 
visit to the United States in 1869, and on 
this occasion he raised the endowment of 
the Baltimore Institute one million dollars, 
created the Peabody Museum, at Salem, 
Massachusetts, with a fund of one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, gave sixty thou- 
sand dollars to Washington College, Vir- 
ginia; fifty thousand dollars for a "Peabody 
Museum," at North Danvers, thirty thousand 
dollars to Phillips Academy, Andover; twen- 
ty-five thousand dollars to Kenyon College, 
Ohio, and twenty thousand dollars to the 
Maryland Historical Society. Mr. Peabody 
also endowed an art school at Rome, in 

1 868. He died in London, November 4, 

1869, less then a month after he had re- 
turned from the United States, and his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



171 



remains were brought to the United States 
and interred in his native town. He made 
several other bequests in his will, and left 
his family about five million dollars. 



MATTHEW S. QUAY, a celebrated 
public man and senator, was born at 
Dillsburgh, York county, Pennsylvania, 
September 30, 1833, of an old Scotch-Irish 
family, some of whom had settled in the 
Iveystone state in 1715. Matthew received 
a good education, graduating from the Jef- 
ferson College at Canonsburg, Pennsj Ivania, 
at the age of seventeen. He then traveled, 
taught school, lectured, and studied law 
under Judge Sterrett. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1854, was appointed a prothon- 
otary in 1855 and elected to the same 
office in 1856 and 1859. Later he was 
made lieutenant of the Pennsylvania Re 
serves, lieutenant-colonel and assistant com- 
missary-general of the state, private secre- 
tary of the famous war governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, Andrew G. Curtin, colonel of the 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylva- 
nia Infantry (nine months men), military 
state agent and held other offices at different 
times. 

Mr. Quay was a member of the house of 
representatives of the state of Pennsylvania 
from 1865 to 1868. He filled the office of 
secretary of the commonwealth from 1872 
to 1S78, and the position of delegate-at- 
large to the Republican national conventions 
of 1872, 1876, 1880 and 1 888. He was the 
editor of the "Beaver Radical" and the 
" Philadelphia Record " for a time, and held 
many offices in the state conventions and on 
their committees. He was elected secre- 
tary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
1869, and served three years, and in 1885 
was chosen state treasurer. In 1886 his 
great abilities pointed him out as the 



natural candidate for United States senator, 
and he was accordingly elected to that posi- 
tion and re-elected thereto in 1892. He 
was always noted for a genius for organiza- 
tion, and as a political leader had but few 
peers. Cool, serene, far-seeing, resourceful, 
holding his impulses and forces in hand, he 
never quailed from any policy he adopted, 
and carried to success most, if not all, of 
the political campaigns in which he took 
part. 

JAMES K. JONES, a noted senator and 
political leader, attained national fame 
while chairman of the national e.xecutive 
committee of the Democratic party in the 
presidential campaign of 1896. He was a 
native of Marshall county, Mississippi, and 
was born September 29, 1839. His father, 
a well-to-do planter, settled in Dallas county, 
Arkansas, in 1848, and there the subject of 
this sketch received a careful education. 
During the Civil war he served as a private 
soldier in the Confederate army. From 
1866 to 1873 he passed a quiet life as a 
planter, but in the latter year was admitted 
to the bar and began the practice of law. 
About the same time he was elected to the 
Arkansas senate and re-elected in 1874. In 
1877 he was made president of the senate 
and the following year was unsuccessful in 
obtaining a nomination as member of con- 
gress. In 1880 he was elected representa- 
tive and his ability at once placed him in a 
foremost position. He was re-elected to 
congress in 1882 and in 1884, and served as 
an influential member on the committee of 
ways and means. March 4, 1885, Mr. Jones 
took his seat in the United States senate to 
succeed James D. Walker, and was after- 
ward re-elected to the same office. In this 
branch of the national legislature his capa- 
bilities had a wider scope, and he was rec- 



172 



COMPEI^DIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



ognized as one of the ablest leaders of his 
party. 

On the nomination of William J. Bryan 
as its candidate for the presidency by the 
national convention of the Democratic 
party, held in Chicago in 1896, Mr. Jones 
was made chairman of the national com- 
mittee. 

THEODORE THOMAS, one of the most 
celebrated musical directors America 
has known, was born in the kingdom of Han- 
over in 1835, and received his musical educa- 
tion from his father. He was avery apt scholar 
and played the violin at public concerts at 
the age of six years. He came with his 
parents to America in 1845, ^"d joined the 
orchestra of the Italian Opera in New York 
City. He played the first violin in the 
orchestra which accompanied Jenny Lind 
in her first American concert. In 1861 Mr. 
Thomas established the orchestra that be- 
came famous under his management, and 
gave his first symphony concerts in New 
York in 1864. He began his first "summer 
night concerts" in the same city in 1868, 
and in 1869 he started on his first tour of 
the principal cities in the United States, 
which he made every year for many years. 
He was director of the College of Music in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, but resigned in 1880, after 
having held the position for three years. 

Later he organized one of the greatest 
and most successful orchestras ever brought 
together in the city of Chicago, and was 
very prominent in musical affairs during the 
World's Columbian Exposition, thereby add- 
ing greatly to his fame. 



CYRUS HALL McCORMICK, the fa- 
mous inventor and manufacturer, was 
born at Walnut Grove, Virginia, February 
1 5, 1 809. When he was seven years old his 



father invented a reaping machine. It was 
a rude contrivance and not successful. In 
1 83 1 Cyrus made his invention of a reaping 
machine, and had it patented three years 
later. By successive improvements he was 
able to keep his machines at the head of 
its class during his life. In 1845 he removed 
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and two years later 
located in Chicago, where he amassed a 
great fortune in manufacturing reapers and 
harvesting machinery. In 1859 he estab- 
lished the Theological Seminary of the 
Northwest at Chicago, an institution for pre- 
paring young men for the ministry in the 
Presbyterian church, and he afterward en- 
dowed a chair in the Washington and Lee 
College at Lexington, Virginia. He mani- 
fested great interest in educational and re- 
ligious matters, and by his great wealth he 
was able to extend- aid and encouragement 
to many charitable causes. His death oc- 
curred May 13, 1884. 



DAVID ROSS LOCKE.— Under the 
pen name of Petroleum V. Nasby, this 
well-known humorist and writer made for 
himself a household reputation, and estab- 
lished a school that has many imitators. 

The subject of this article was born at 
Vestal, Broome county, New York, Sep- 
tember 30, 1833. After receiving his edu- 
cation in the county of his birth he en- 
tered the office of the " Democrat, " at Cort- 
land, New York, where he learned the 
printer's trade. He was successively editor 
and publisher of the ' 'Plymouth Advertiser, " 
the "Mansfield Herald," the " Bucyrus 
Journal," and the "Findlay Jeffersonian." 
Later he became editor of the "Toledo 
Blade." In i860 he commenced his 
" Nasby" articles, several series of which 
have been given the world in book form. 
Under a mask of misspelling, and in a auaint 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



If3 



and humorous style, a keen political satire 
is couched — a most effective weapon. 
Mr. Locke was the author of a num- 
ber of serious political pamphlets, and 
later on a more pretentious work, " The 
Morals of Abou Ben Adhem." As a news- 
paper writer he gained many laurels and his 
works are widely read. Abraham Lincoln 
is said to have been a warm admirer of P. 
V. Nasby, of " Confedrit X Roads" fame. 
Mr. Locke died at Toledo, Ohio, February 
15, 1S8S. 

RUSSELL A. ALGER, noted as a sol- 
dier, governor and secretary of war, 
was born in Medina county, Ohio, February 
27, 1836, and was the son of Russell and 
Caroline (Moulton) Alger. At the age of 
twelve years he was left an orphan and pen- 
niless. For about a year he worked for 
his board and clothing, and attended school 
part of the time. In 1850 he found a place 
which paid small wages, and out of his 
scanty earnings helped his brother and sister. 
While there working on a farm he found 
time to attend the Richfield Academy, and 
by hard work between times managed to get 
a fair education for that time. The last 
two years of his attendance at this institu- 
tion of learning he taught school during the 
winter months. In 1857 he commenced the 
study of law, and was admitted to the bar 
in 1859. For a while he found employ- 
ment in Cleveland, Ohio, but impaired 
health induced him to remove to Grand 
Rapids, where he engaged in the lumber 
business. He was thus engaged when the 
Civil war broke out, and, his business suf- 
fering and his savings swept away, he en- 
listed as a private in the Second Michigan 
Cavalry. He was promoted to be captain 
the following month, and major for gallant 
conduct at Boonesville, Mississippi, July i, 



1862. October 16, 1862, he was made 
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Michigan 
Cavalry, and in February, 1863, colonel of 
the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. He rendered 
excellent service in the Gettysburg cam- 
paign. He was wounded at Boonesboro, 
Maryland, and on returning to his command 
took part with Sherman in the campaign in 
the Shenandoah Valley. For services ren- 
dered, that famous soldier recommended 
him for promotion, and he was brevetted 
major-general of volunteers. In 1866 Gen- 
eral Alger took up his residence at Detroit, 
and prospered exceedingly in his business, 
which was that of lumbering, and grew 
quite wealthy. In 1884 he was a delegate 
to the Republican national convention, and 
the same year was elected governor of 
Michigan. He declined a nomination for 
re-election to the latter office, in 1887, and 
was the following year a candidate for the 
nomination for president. In 1889 he was 
elected commander-in-chief of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and at different 
times occupied many offices in other or- 
ganizations. 

In March, 1897, President McKinley 
appointed General Alger secretary of war. 



CYRUS WEST FIELD, the father of 
submarine telegraphy, was the son of 
the Rev. David D. Field, D.D., a Congre- 
gational minister, and was born at Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, November 30, 18 19. 
He was educated in his native town, and at 
the age of fifteen years became a clerk in a 
store in New York City. Being gifted with 
excellent business ability Mr. Field pros- 
pered and became the head of a large mer- 
cantile house. In 1853 he spent about six 
months in travel in South America. On his 
return he became interested in ocean teleg- 
raphy. Being solicited to aid in the con- 



174 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



struction of a land telegraph across New 
Foundland to receive the news from a line 
of fast steamers it was proposed to run from 
from Ireland to St. Johns, the idea struck 
him to carry the line across the broad At- 
lantic. In 1850 Mr. Field obtained a con- 
cession from the legislature of Newfound- 
land, giving him the sole right for filty years 
to land submarine cables on the shores of 
that island. In company with Peter Cooper, 
Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts and 
Chandler White, he organized a company 
under the name of the New York, New- 
foundland & London Telegraph Company. 
In two years the line from New York across 
Newfoundland was built. The first cable 
connecting Cape Breton Island with New- 
foundland having been lost in a storm while 
being laid in 1855, another was put down in 
1856. In the latter year Mr. Field went to 
London and organized the Atlantic Tele- 
graph Company, furnishing one-fourth of the 
capital himself. Both governments loaned 
ships to carry out the enterprise. Mr. Field 
accompanied the expeditions of 1857 and 
two in 1858. The first and second cables 
were failures, and the third worked but a 
short time and then ceased. The people of 
both continents became incredulous of the 
feasibility of laying a successful cable under 
so wide an expanse of sea, and the war 
breaking out shortly after, nothing was done 
until 1865-66. Mr. Field, in the former 
year, again made the attempt, and the Great 
Eastern laid some one thousand two hun- 
dred miles when the cable parted and was 
lost. The following year the same vessel 
succeeded in laying the entire cable, and 
picked up the one lost the year before, and 
both were carried to America's shore. After 
thirteen years of care and toil Mr. Field had 
his reward. He was the recipient of many 
medals and honors from both home and 



abroad. He gave his attention after this 
to establishing telegraphic communication 
throughout the world and many other large 
enterprises, notably the construction of ele- 
vated railroads in New York. Mr. Field 
died July 1 1, 1892. 



G ROVER CLEVELAND, the twenty- 
second president of the United States, 
was born in Caldwell, Essex county. New 
Jersey, March 18, 1837, and was the son 
of Rev. Richard and Annie (Neale) Cleve- 
land. The father, of distinguished New 
England ancestry, was a Presbyterian min- 
ister in charge of the church at Caldwell at 
the time. 

When Grover was about three years of 
age the family removed to Fayetteville, 
Onondaga county. New York, where he 
attended the district school, and was in the 
academy for a short time. His father be- 
lieving that boys should early learn to labor, 
Grover entered a village store and worked 
for the sum of fifty dollars for the first year. 
While he was thus engaged the family re- 
moved to Clinton, New York, and there 
yoang Cleveland took up h's studies at the 
academy. The death of his father dashed 
all his hopes of a collegiate education, the 
family being left in straightened circum- 
stances, and Grover started out to battle 
for himself. After acting for a year (1853- 
54) as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in 
the Institution for the Blind at New York 
City, he went to Buffalo. A short time 
after he entered the law office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of that city, and after a 
hard struggle with adverse circumstances, 
was admitted to the bar in 1859. He be- 
came confidential and managing clerk for 
the firm under whom he had studied, and 
remained with them until 1863. In the lat- 
ter year he was appointed district attornej' 



.COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



17J 



of Erie county. It was during his incum- 
bency of this office that, on being nominated 
by the Democrats for supervisor, he came 
within thirteen votes of election, although 
the district was usually Republican by two 
hundred and fifty majority. In 1 866 Grover 
Cleveland formed a partnership with Isaac 
V. Vanderpoel. The most of the work here 
fell upon the shoulders of our subject, and 
he soon won a good standing at the bar of 
the state. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland associated 
himself in business with A. P. Laning and 
Oscar Folsom, and under the firm name of 
Laning, Cleveland & Folsom soon built up a 
fair practice. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Cleve- 
land was elected sheriff of Erie county, an 
office which he filled for four years, after 
which he resumed his profession, with L. K. 
Bass and Wilson S. Bissell as partners. 
This firm was strong and popular and 
shortly was in possession of a lucrative 
practice. Mr. Bass retired from the firm 
in 1879, and George J. Secard was admit- 
ted a member in 188 1. In the latter year 
Mr. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo, 
and in 1882 he was chosen governor by 
the enormous majority of one hundred and 
ninety-two thousand votes. July 11, 1884, 
he was nominated for the presidency by the 
Democratic national convention, and in 
November following was elected. 

Mr. Cleveland, after serving one term as 
president of the United States, in 18S8 was 
nominated by his party to succeed himself, 
but he failed of the election, being beaten 
by Benjamin Harrison. In 1892, however, 
being nominated again in opposition to the 
then incumbent of the presidency, Mr. Har- 
rison, Grover Cleveland was elected pres- 
ident for the second time and served for the 
usual term of four years. In 1897 Mr. 
Cleveland retired from the chair of the first 
r.-'Pf'istrate of the nation, and in New York 



City resumed the practice of law, in which 
city he had established himself in 1889. 

June 2, 1886, Grover Cleveland was 
united in marriage with Miss Frances Fol- 
som, the daughter of his former partner. 



ALEXANDER WINCHELL, for many 
years one of the greatest of American 
scientists, and one of the most noted and 
prolific writers on scientific subjects, was 
born in Duchess county. New York, Decem- 
ber 31, 1824. He received a thorough col- 
legiate education, and graduated at the 
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connect- 
icut, in 1847. His mind took a scientific 
turn, which manifested itself while he was 
yet a boy, and in 1848 he became teacher 
of natural sciences at the Armenian Semi- 
nary, in his native state, a position which 
he filled for three years. In 185 1-3 he oc- 
cupied the same position in the Mesopo- 
tamia Female Seminary, in Alabama, after 
which he was president of the Masonic Fe- 
male Seminary, in Alabama. In 1853 he 
became connected with the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, at which institu- 
tion he performed the most important work 
of his life, and gained a wide reputation as 
a scientist. He held many important posi- 
tions, among which were the following: 
Professor of physics and civil engineering at 
the University of Michigan, also of geology, 
zoology and botany, and later professor of 
geology and palaeontology at the same insti- 
tution. He also, for a time, was president 
of the Michigan Teachers' Association, and 
state geologist of Michigan. Professor 
Winchell was a very prolific writeron scien- 
tific subjects, and published many standard 
works, his most important and widely known 
being those devoted to geology. He also 
contributed a large number of articles to 
scientific and popular journals. 



176 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



ANDREW HULL FOOTE, of the 
United States navy, was a native of 
New England, born at New Haven, Con- 
necticut, May 4, 1808. He entered the 
navy, as a midshipman, December 4, 1822. 
He slowly rose in his chosen profession, at- 
taining the rank of lieutenant in 1830, com- 
mander in 1852 and captain in 1861. 
Among the distinguished men in the break- 
ing out of the Civil war, but few stood higher 
in the estimation of his brother officers than 
Foote, and when, in the fall of i8(ii, he 
was appointed to the command of the flotilla 
then building on the Mississippi, the act 
gave great satisfaction to the service. 
Although embarrassed ty want of navy 
yards and supplies, Foote threw himself into 
his new work with unusual energy. He 
overcame all obstacles and in the new, and, 
until that time, untried experiment, of creat- 
ing and maintaining a navy on a river, 
achieved a success beyond the expectations 
of the country. Great incredulity existed as 
to the possibility of carrying on hostilities 
on a river where batteries from the shore 
might bar the passage. But in spite of all, 
Foote soon had a navy on the great river, 
and by the heroic qualities of the crews en- 
trusted to him, demonstrated the utility of 
this new departure in naval architecture. 
All being prepared, February 6, 1862, Foote 
took Fort Henry after a hotly-contested 
action. On the 14th of the same month, 
for an hour and a half engaged the batteries 
of Fort Donelson, with four ironclads and 
two wooden gunboats, thereby dishearten- 
ing the garrison and assisting in its capture. 
April 7th of the same year, after several 
hotly-contested actions. Commodore Foote 
received the surrender of Island No. 10, one 
of the great strongholds of the Confederacy 
on the Mississippi river. Foote having been 
wounded at Fort Donelson, and by neglect 



it having become so serious as to endanger 
his life, he was forced to resign his command 
and return home. June 16, 1862, he re- 
ceived the thanks of congress and was pro- 
moted to the rank of rear admiral. He was 
appointed chief of the bureau of equipment 
and recruiting. June 4, 1863, he was 
ordered to the fleet off Charleston, to super- 
cede Rear Admiral Dupont, but on his way 
to that destination was taken sick at New 
York, and died June 26, 1863. 



NELSON A. MILES, the well-known sol- 
dier, was born at Westminster, Massa- 
chusetts, August 8, 1 839. His ancestors set- 
tled in that state in 1643 among the early 
pioneers, and their descendants were, many 
of them, to be found among those battling 
against Great Britain during Revolutionary 
times and during the war of 1812. Nelson 
was reared on a farm, received an academic 
education, and in early manhood engaged in 
mercantile pursuits in Boston. Early in 

1 86 1 he raised a company and offered his 
services to the government, and although 
commissioned as captain, on account of his 
youth went out as first lieutenant in the 
Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In 

1862 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel 
and colonel of the Sixty-first New York In- 
fantry. At the request of Generals Grant 
and Meade he was made a brigadier by 
President Lincoln. He participated in all 
but one of the battles of the Army of the 
Potomac until the close of the war. During 
the latter part of the time he commanded 
the first division of the Second Corps. 
General Miles was wounded at the battles 
of Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg and Chan- 
cellorsville, and received four brevets for 
distinguished service. During the recon- 
struction period he commanded in North 
Carolina, and on the reorganization of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



Ill 



regular army he was made colonel of in- 
fantry. In iSSo he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general, and in 1890 to 
that of major-general. He successfully con- 
ducted several campaigns among the In- 
dians, and his name is known among the 
tribes as a friend when they are peacefully 
mclined. He many times averted war 
with the red men by judicious and humane 
settlement of difficulties without the military 
power. In 1892 General Miles was given 
command of the proceedings in dedicating 
the World's Fair at Chicago, and in the 
summer of 1894, during the great railroad 
strike at the same city. General Miles, then 
in command of the department, had the 
disposal of the troops sent to protect the 
United States mails. On the retirement of 
General J. M. Schofield, in 1895. General 
Miles became the ranking major-general of 
the United States army and the head of its 
forces. 



in languages, drawing, painting and sculp- 
ture. In his private life he was reserved, 
and even eccentric. Strange stories are 
related of his peculiarities, and on his farm 
near Baltimore he forbade the use of animal 
food, the taking of animal life, and even the 
felling of trees, and brought his butter and 
eggs to the Baltimore markets in person. 

Junius Brutus Booth, known as the elder 
Booth, gave to the world three sons of note: 
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the husband of 
Agnes Booth, the actress; John Wilkes 
Booth, the author of the greatest tragedy 
in the life of our nation; Edwin Booth, in 
his day the greatest actor of America, if'not 
of the world. 



JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, the great 
<J actor, though born in London (1796), is 
more intimately connected with the Amer- 
ican than with the English stage, and his 
popularity in America was almost un- 
bounded, while in England he was not a 
prime favorite. He presented " Richard III. " 
in Richmond on his first appearance on the 
American stage in 1821. This was his 
greatest role, and in it he has never had an 
equal. In October of the same year he 
appeared in New York. After a long and 
successful career he gave his final perform- 
ance at New Orleans in 1852. He con- 
tracted a severe cold, and for lack of proper 
medical attention, it resulted in his death 
on November 30th of that year. He was, 
without question, one of the greatest tra- 
gedians that ever lived. In addition to his 
professional art and genius, he was skilled 



TAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY, fa- 
J mous as the "Danbury News Man," 
was one of the best known American humor- 
ists, and was born September 25, 1841, at 
Albany, N. Y. He adopted journalism as a 
profession and started in his chosen work on 
the "Danbury Times," which paper he pur- 
chased on his return from the war. Mr. 
Bailey also purchased the 'Jeffersonian," 
another paper of Danbury, and consolidated 
them, forming the "Danbury News," which 
paper soon acquired a celebrity throughout 
the United States, from an incessant flow of 
rich, healthy, and original humor, which the 
pen of the editor imparted to its columns, 
and he succeeded in raising the circulation 
of the paper from a few hundred copies a 
week to over forty thousand. The facilities 
of a country printing office were not so com- 
plete in those days as they are now, but Mr. 
Bailey was resourceful, and he put on re- 
lays of help and ran his presses night and 
day, and always prepared his matter a week 
ahead of time. The "Danbury News Man- 
was a new figure in literature, as his humor 
was so different from that of the newspaper 



1?S 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



■wits — who had preceded him, and he maybe 
called the pioneer of that school now so 
familiar. Mr. Bailey published in book 
form "Life in Danbury" and "The Danbury 
News Mail's Almanac. " One of his most 
admirable traits was philanthrophy, as he 
gave with unstinted generosity to all comers, 
and died comparatively poor, notwithstand- 
ing his ownership of a very profitable busi- 
ness which netted him an income of $40,000 
a year. He died March 4, 1894. 



M 



ATTHEW HALE CARPENTER, a 

famous lawyer, orator and senator, 
was born in Moretown, Vermont, December 
22, 1824. After receiving a common-school 
education he entered the United States 
Military Academy at West Point, but only 
remained two years. On returning to his 
home he commenced the study of law with 
Paul Dillingham, afterwards governor of 
Vermont, and whose daughter he married. 
In 1847 he was admitted to practice at the 
bar in Vermont, but he went to Boston and 
for a time studied with Ruf us Choate. In 1 848 
he moved west, settling at Beloit, Wisconsin, 
and commencing the practice of his profes- 
sion soon obtained a wide reputation for 
ability. In 1856 Mr. Carpenter removed to 
Milwaukee, where he found a wider field for 
his now increasing powers. During the 
Civil war, although a strong Democrat, he 
was loyal to the government and aided the 
Union cause to his utmost. In 1868 he 
was counsel for the government in a test 
case to settle the legality of the reconstruc- 
tion act before the United States supreme 
court, and won his case against Jeremiah S. 
Black. This gave him the election for sen- 
ator from Wisconsin in 1869, and he served 
until 1875, during part of which time he was 
president /r<? /'f;///'t';v of the senate. Failing 
01 a re-election Mr. Carpenter resumed the 



practice of law, and when Willia.m W. 
Belknap, late secretary of war, was im- 
peached, entered the case for General 
Belknap, and secured an acquittal. During 
the sitting of the electoral commission of 
1877, Mr. Carpenter appeared for Samuel 
J. Tilden, although the Republican man- 
agers had intended to have him represent 
R. B. Hayes. Mr. Carpenter was elected 
to the United States senate again in 1879, 
and remained a member of that body until 
the day of his death, which occurred at 
Washington, District of Columbia, Feb- 
ruary 24, i8S£. 

Senator Carpenter's real name was De- 
catur Merritt Hammond Carpenter but about 
1852 he changed it to the one by which he 
was universally known. 



THOMAS E. WATSON, lawyer and 
congressman, the well-known Geor- 
gian, whose name appears at the head of 
this sketch, made himself a place in the his- 
tory of our country by his ability, energy 
and fervid oratory. He was born in Col- 
umbia (now McDuffie) county, Georgia, 
September 5, 1856. He had a cotnmon- 
school education, and in 1872 entered Mer- 
cer University, at Macon, Georgia, as fresh- 
man, but for want of money left the college 
at the end of his sophomore year. He 
taught school, studying law at the same 
time, until 1875, when he was admitted to 
the bar. He opened an office and com- 
menced practice in Thomson, Georgia, in 
November, 1876. He carried on a success- 
ful business, and bought land and farmed on 
an extensive scale. 

Mr. Watson was a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic state convention of 1880, and was a 
member of the house of representatives of 
the legislature of his native state in 1882. 
In 1888 he was an elector-at-large on the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



179 



Cleveland ticket, and in 1890 was elected 
to represent his district in the fift3'-second 
congress. This latter election is said to have 
been due entirely to Mr. Watson's "dash- 
ing display of ability, eloquence and popular 
power." In his later years he championed 
the alliance principles and policies until he 
became a leader in the movement. In the 
heated campaign of 1896, Mr. Watson was 
nominated as the candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the Bryan ticket by that part of the 
People's party that would not endorse the 
nominee for the same position made by the 
Democratic party. 



FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD, mathe- 
matician, physicist and educator, was 
born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, May 5, 1 809. 
He graduated from Yale College in 1828, and 
in 1830 became a tutor in the same. From 
1837 to 1848 he was professor of mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy in the Uni- 
versity of Alabama, and from 1848 to 1850, 
professor of chemistry and natural history 
in the same educational institution. In 
1854 he became connected with the Univer- 
sity of Mississippi, of which he became 
president in 1856, and chancellor in 1858. 
In 1854 he took orders in the Protestant 
Episcopal cliurch. In 1861 Professor Barnard 
resigned his chancellorship and chair in the 
university, and in 1863 and 1864 was con- 
nected with the United States coast survey 
in charge of chart printing and lithography. 
In May, 1864, he was elected president of 
Columbia College, New York City, which 
he served for a number of years. 

Professor Barnard received the honorary 
degree of LL. D. from Jefferson College, 

I Mississippi, in 1855, and from Yale College 
in 1859; also the degree of S. T. D. from 
the University of Mississippi in 1861, and 

I th-it of L. H. D. from the regents of the 



University of the State of New York in 1872. 
In i860 he was a member of the eclipse 
party sent by the United States coast sur- 
vey to Labrador, and during his absence 
was elected president of the American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science. In 
the act of congress establishing the National 
Academy of Sciences in 1863, he was named 
as one of the original corporators. In 1867 
he was one of the United States commis- 
sioners to the Paris Exposition. He was 
a member of the American Philosophical 
Society, associate member of the Amer- 
ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 
many other philosophical and scientific 
societies at home and abroad. Dr. Barnard 
was thoroughly identified with the progress 
of the age in those branches. His published 
works relate wholly to scientific or educa- 
tional subjects, chief among which are the 
following: Report on Collegiate Education; 
Art Culture; History of the American Coast 
Survey; University Education; Undulatory 
Theory of Light; Machinery and Processes 
of the Industrial Arts, and Apparatus of the 
Exact Sciences, Metric System of Weights 
and Measures, etc. 



EDWIN McMASTERS STANTON, the 
secretary of war during the great Civil 
war, was recognized as one of America's 
foremost public men. He was born Decem- 
ber 19, 1814, at Steubenville, Ohio, where 
he received his education and studied law. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1836, and 
was reporter of the supreme court of Ohio 
from 1842 until 1845. He removed to 
Washington in 1856 to attend to his prac- 
tice before the United States supreme 
court, and in 1858 he went to California as 
counsel for the government in certain land 
cases, which he carried to a successful 
conclusion. Mr. Stanton was appointed 



ISO 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



attorney-general of the United States in 
December, i860, by President Buchanan. 
On March 4, 1861, Mr. Stanton went with 
the outgoing administration and returneci to 
the practice of his profession. He was 
appointed secretary of war by President 
Lincoln January 20, 1862, to succeed Simon 
Cameron. After the assassination of Presi- 
dent Lincohi and the accession of Johnson 
to the presidency, Mr. Stanton was still in 
the same office. He held it for three years, 
and by his strict adherence to the Repub- 
lican party, he antagonized President John- 
son, who endeavored to remove him. On 
August 5, 1867, the president requested him 
to resign, and appointed General Grant to 
succeed him, but when congress convened 
in December the senate refused to concur in 
the suspension. Mr. Stanton returned to 
his post until the president again removed 
him from office, but was again foiled by 
congress. Soon after, however, he retired 
voluntarily from office and took up the 
practice of law, in which he engaged until 
his death, on December 24, 1869. 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, the eminent 
theologian and founder of the church 
known as Disciples of Christ, was born in 
the country of Antrim, Ireland, in June, 
1788, and was the son of Rev. Thomas 
Campbell, a Scoth-Irish "Seceder. " After 
studying at the University of Glasgow, he, 
in company with his father, came to America 
in 1808, and both began labor in western 
Pennsylvania to restore Christianity to 
apostolic simplicity. They organized a 
church at Brush Run, Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, in iSii, which, however, the 
year following, adopted Baptist views, and 
in I Si 3, with other congregations joined a 
Baptist association. Some of the under- 
lying principles and many practices of the 



Campbells and their disciples were repug- 
nant to the Baptist church and considerable 
friction was the result, and 1827 saw the 
separation of that church from the Church 
of Christ, as it is sometimes called. The 
latter then reorganized themselves anew. 
They reject all creeds, professing to receive 
the Bible as their only guide. In most mat- 
ters of faith they are essentiallyin accord with 
the other Evangelical Christian churches, 
especially in regard to the person and work 
of Christ, the resurrection and judgment. 
They celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, 
hold that repentance and faith should precede 
baptism, attaching much importance to the 
latter ordinance. On all other points they 
encourage individual liberty of thought. In 
1 841, Alexander Campbell founded Bethany 
College, West Virginia, of which he was 
president for many years, and died March 4, 
1866. 

The denomination which they founded 
is quite a large and important church body 
in the United States. They support quite 
a number of institutions of learning, among 
which are: Bethany College, West Virginia; 
Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio; Northwestern 
Christian University, Indianapolis, Indiana; 
Eureka College, Illinois; Kentucky Univer- 
sity, Lexington, Kentucky; Oskaloosa 
College, Iowa; and a number of seminaries 
and schools. They also support several 
monthly and quarterly religious periodicals 
and many papers, both in the United States 
and Great Britain and her dependencies. 



WILLIAM L.WILSON, the noted West 
Virginian, who was postmaster-gener- 
al under President Cleveland's second ad- 
ministration, won distinction as the father 
of the famous " Wilson bill," which became 
a law under the same administration. Mr. 
Wiisoii was born May 3, 1843, in jeffer- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



181 



son county. West Virginia, and received 
a good education at the Charlestown 
Academy, where he prepared himself for 
college. He attended the Columbian Col- 
lege in the District of Columbia, from 
which he graduated in i860, and then 
attended the University of Virginia. Mr. 
Wilson served in the Confederate army dur- 
ing the war, after which he was ;i professor 
in Columbian College. Later he entered 
into the practice of law at Charlestown. 
He attended the Democratic convention 
held at Cincinnati in 1880, as a delegate, 
and later was chosen as one of the electors 
for the state-at-large on the Hancock 
ticket. In the Democratic convention at 
Chicago in 1892, Mr. Wilson was its per- 
manent president. He was elected pres- 
ident of the West Virginia University in 
1882, entering upon the duties of his office 
on September 6, but having received the 
nomination for the forty-seventh congress 
on the Democratic ticket, he resigned the 
presidency of the university in June, 1883, 
to take his seat in congress. Mr. Wil- 
son was honored by the Columbian Uni- 
versity and the Hampden-Sidney College, 
both of which conferred upon him the de- 
gree of LL. D. In 1884 he was appointed 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution at 
Washington for two 3'ears, and at the end 
of his term was re-appointed. He was 
elected to the forty-seventh, forty-ninth, 
fiftieth, fifty-first, fifty-second and fifty- 
third congresses, but was defeated for re- 
election to the fifty-fourth congress. Upon 
the resignation of Mr. Bissell from the office 
of postmaster-general, Mr. Wilson was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy by President 
Cleveland. Hi.s many years of public serv- 
ice and the prominent part he took in the 
discussion of public questions gave him a 
national reputation. 



CALVIN S. BRICE, a successful and 
noted financier and politician, was 
born at Denmark, Ohio, September 17, 
1845, of an old Maryland family, who trace 
their lineage from the Bryces, or Bruces, of 
Airth, Scotland. The father of our subject 
was a prominent Presbyterian clergyman, 
who removed to Ohio in 18 12. Calvin S. 
Brice was, educated in the common schools 
of his native town, and at the age of thir- 
teen entered the preparatory department of 
Miami University at O.xford, Ohio, and the 
following year entered the freshman class. 
On the breaking out of the Civil war, 
although but fifteen years old, he enlisted in 
a company of three-months men. He re- 
turned to complete his college course, but 
re-enlisted in Company A, Eightj'-sixth 
Ohio Infantry, and served in the Virginia 
campaign. He then returned to college, 
from which he graduated in 1863. In 1S64 
he organized Company E, One Hundred 
and Eightieth Ohio Infantry, SPnd served 
until the close of hostilities, in the western 
armies. 

On his return home Mr. Brice entered 
the law department of the University of 
Michigan, and in 1866 was admitted to the 
bar in Cincinnati. In the winter of 1870- 
71 he went to Europe in the interests of the 
Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad and pro- 
cured a foreign loan. This road became 
the Lake Erie & Western, of which, in 
1887, Mr. Brice became president. This 
was the first railroad in which he had a 
personal interest. The conception, build- 
ing and sale of the New York, Chicago & 
St. Louis Railroad, known as the "Nickel 
Plate," was largely due to him. He was 
connected with many other railroads, among 
which may be mentioned the following: 
Chicago & Atlantic; Ohio Central; Rich- 
mond & Danville; Richmond & W^est Point 



182 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Terminal; East Tennessee, Virginia & 
Georgia; Memphis & Charleston; Mobile & 
Birmingham; Kentucky Central; Duluth, 
South Shore & Atlantic, and the Marquette, 
Houghton & Ontonagon. In 1890 he was 
elected United States senator from Ohio. 
Notwithstanding his extensive business inter- 
ests, Senator Brice gave a considerable 
time to political matters, becoming one of 
the leaders of the Democratic party and one 
of the most widely known men in the 
country. 

BENJAMIN HARRISON, twenty-third 
president of the United States, was 
born August 20, 1833, at North Bend, 
Hamilton county, Ohio, in the house of his 
grandfather. General William Henry Har- 
rison, afterwards president of the United 
States. His great-grandfather, Benjamin 
Harrison, was a member of the Continental 
congress, signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and was three times elected gov- 
ernor of Virginia. 

The subject of this sketch entered Farm- 
ers College at an early age, and two years 
later entered Miami University, at O.xford, 
Ohio. Upon graduation he entered the 
office of Stover & Gwyne, of Cincinnati, as a 
law student. He was admitted to the bar 
two years later, and having inherited about 
eight hundred dollars worth of property, he 
married the daughter of Doctor Scott, pres- 
ident of a female school at Oxford, Ohio, 
and selected Indianapolis, Indiana, to begin 
practice. In i860 he was nominated by 
the Republicans as candidate for state 
supreme court reporter, and did his first 
political speaking in that campaign. He 
was elected, and after two years in that 
position he organized the Seventieth Indi- 
ana Infantry, of which he was made colonel, 
and with his regiment joined General Sher- 



man's army. For bravery displayed at Re- 
saca and Peach Tree Creek he was made a 
brigadier-general. In the meantime the 
office of supreme court reporter had been 
declared vacant, and another party elected 
to fill it. In the fall of 1864, having been 
nominated for that office. General Harrison 
obtained a thirty-day leave of absence, went 
to Indiana, canvassed the state and was 
elected. As he was about to rejoin his 
command he was stricken down by an attack 
of fever. After his recovery he joined 
General Sherman's army and participated in 
the closing events of the war. 

In 1868 General Harrison declined to 
be a candidate for the office of supreme 
court reporter, and returned to the practice 
of the law. His brilliant campaign for the 
office of governor of Indiana in 1876, 
brought him into public notice, although he 
was defeated. He took a prominent part 
in the presidential canvass of 1880, and was 
chosen United States senator from Indiana, 
serving six years. He then returned to the 
practice of his profession. In 1888 he was 
selected by the Republican convention at 
Chicago as candidate for the presidency, and 
after a heated campaign was elected over 
Cleveland. He was inaugurated March 4, 
1889, and signed the McKinley bill October 
I, 1890, perhaps the most distinctive feature 
of his administration. In 1892 he was 
again the nominee of the Republican party 
for president, but was defeated by Grover 
Cleveland, the Democratic candidate, and 
again resumed the practice of law in Indian- 
apolis. 

JOHN CRAIG HAVEMEYER, the 
celebrated merchant and sugar refiner, 
was born in New York City in 1833. His 
father, William F. Havemeyer, and grand- 
father, William Havemeyer, were both sugar 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



183 



refiners. The latter named came from 
Buckeburg, Germany, in 1799, and settled 
in New York, establishing one of the first 
refineries in that city. William F. succeeded 
his father, and at an early age retired from 
business with a competency. He was three 
times mayor of his native city, New York. 
John C. Havemeyer was educated in 
private schools, and was prepared for college 
at Columbia College grammar school. 
Owing to failing eyesight he was unable to 
finish his college course, and began his 
business career in a wholesale grocery store, 
where he remained two years. In 1854, 
after a year's travel abroad, he assumed the 
responsibility of the office work in the sugar 
refinery of Havemeyer & Molter, but two 
years later etablished a refinery of his own 
in Brooklyn. This afterwards developed into 
the immense business of Havemeyer & Elder. 
The capital was furnished by his father, 
and, chafing under the anxiety caused by the 
use of borrowed money, he sold out his 
interest and returned to Havemeyer & 
Molter. This firm dissolving the next year, 
John C. declined an offer of partnership 
from the successors, not wishing to use 
borrowed money. For two years he remain- 
ed with the house, receiving a share of the 
profits as compensation. For some years 
thereafter he was engaged in the commission 
business, • until failing health caused his 
retirement. In 1871, he again engaged in 
the sugar refining business at Greenport, 
Long Island, with his brother and another 
partner, under the firm name of Havemeyer 
Brothers & Co. Here he remained until 
1880, when his health again declined. 
During the greater part of his life Mr. 
I Havemeyer was identified with many benev- 
I olent societies, including the New York 
1 Port Society, Missionary Society of the 
( Methodist Church, American Bible Society, 



New York Sabbath School Society and 
others. He was active in Young Men's 
Christian Association work in New York, 
and organized and was the first president of 
an affiliated society of the same at Yonkers. 
He was director of several railroad corpo- 
rations and a trustee of the Continental Trust 
Company of New York. 



WALTER QUINTIN GRESHAM, an 
eminent American statesman and 
jurist, was born March 17, 1833, near Cory- 
don, Harrison county, Indiana. He ac- 
quired his education m the local schools of 
the county and at Bloomington Academy, 
akhough he did not graduate. After leav- 
ing college he read law with Judge Porter 
at Corydon, and just before the war he be- 
gan to take an interest in politics. Mr. 
Gresham was elected to the legislature from 
Harrison county as a Republican; previous 
to this the district had been represented by 
a Democrat. At the commencement of 
hostilities he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
the Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, but 
served in that regiment only a short time, 
when he was appointed colonel of the Fifty- 
third Indiana, and served under General 
Grant at the siege of Vicksburg as brigadier- 
general. Later he was under Sherman in 
the famous "March to the Sea," and com- 
manded a division of Blair's corps at the 
siege of Atlanta where he was so badly 
wounded in the leg that he was compelled 
to return home. On his way home he was 
forced to stop at New Albany, where he re- 
mained a year before he was able to leave. 
He was brevetted major-general at the close 
of the war. While at New Albany, Mr. 
Gresham was appointed state agent, his 
duty being to pay the interest on the state 
debt in New York, and he ran twice for 
congress against ex-Speaker Kerr, but was 



184 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



defeated in both cases, although he greatly 
reduced the Democratic majority. He was 
held in high esteem by President Grant, 
who offered him the portfolio of the interior 
but Mr. Gresham declined, but accepted 
the appointment of United States judge for 
Indiana to succeed David McDonald. 
Judge Gresham served on the United States 
district court bench until 1883, when he 
was appointed postmaster-general by Presi- 
dent Arthur, but held that office only a few 
months when he was made secretary of the 
treasury. Near the end of President 
Arthur's term, Judge Gresham was ap- 
pointed judge of the United States circuit 
court of the district composed of Indiana, 
Illinois and contiguous states, which he held 
until 1893. Judge Gresham was one of the 
presidential possibilities in the National Re- 
publican convention in 1888, when General 
Harrison was nominated, and was also men- 
tioned for president in 1892. Later the 
People's party made a strenuous effort to 
induce him to become their candidate for 
president, he refusing the offer, however, 
and a few weeks before the election he an- 
nounced that he would support Mr. Cleve- 
land, the Democratic nominee for president. 
Upon the election of Mr. Cleveland in the 
fall of 1892, Judge Gresham was made the 
secretary of state, and filled that position 
UDtil his death on May 28, 1895, at Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia. 



ELISHA B. ANDREWS, noted as an ed- 
ucator and college president, was born 
at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, January 10, 
1844, his father and mother being Erastus 
and Elmira (Bartlett) Andrews. In 1861, 
he entered the service of the general gov- 
ernment as private and non-commissioned 
officer in the First Connecticut Heavy Ar- 
tillery, and in 1863 was promoted to the 



rank of second lieutenant. Returning home 
he was prepared for college at Powers In- 
stitute and at the Wesleyan Academy, and 
entered Brown University. From here he 
was graduated in 1870. For the succeeding 
two years he was principal of the Connecti- 
cut Literary Institute at Suffield, Connecticut. 
Completing a course at the Newton Theo- 
logical Institute, he was ordained pastor of 
the First Baptist church at Beverly, Massa- 
chusetts, July 2, 1874. The following 
year he became president of the Denison 
University, at Granville, Ohio. In 1879 
he accepted the professorship of homiletics, 
pastoral duties and church polity at Newton 
Theological Institute. In 1882 he was 
elected to the chair of history and political 
economy at Brown University. The Uni- 
versity of Nebraska honored him with an 
LL. D. in 1884, and the same year Colby 
University conferred the degree of D. D. 
In 1888 he became professor of political 
economy and public economy at Cornell 
University, but the next year returned to 
Brown University as its president. From 
the time of his inauguration the college work 
broadened in many ways. Many timely 
and generous donations from friends and 
alumni of the college were influenced by 
him, and large additions made ^o the same. 
Professor Andrews published, in 1887, 
" Institutes of General History," and in 
1888, " Institutes of Economics." 



JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, the subject 
of the present biography, was, during his 
life, one of the most distinguished chemists 
and scientific writers in America. He was 
an Englishman by birth, born at Liverpool, 
May 5, 181 1, and was reared in his native 
land, receiving an excellent education, 
graduating at the University of London. In 
1833 he came to the United States, and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



187 



settled first in Pennsylvania. He graduated 
in medicine at the University of Philadel- 
phia, in 1836, and for three years following 
was professor of chemistry and physiology 
at Hampden-Sidney College. He then be- 
came professor of chemistry in the New York 
University, with which institution he was 
prominently connected for many years. It 
is stated on excellent authority that Pro- 
fessor Draper, in 1839, took the first photo- 
graphic picture ever taken from life. He 
was a great student, and carried on many 
important and intricate experiments along 
scientific lines. He discovered many, of the 
fundamental facts of spectrum analysis, 
which he published. He published a number 
of works of great merit, many of which are 
recognized as authority upon the subjects of 
which they treat. Among his work were: 
"Human Physiology, Statistical and Dyna- 
mical of the Conditions and Cause of Life 
in Man," "History of Intellectual Develop- 
ment of Europe," " History of the Ameri- 
can Civil War," besides a number of works 
on chemistry, optics and mathematics. Pro- 
fessor Draper continued to hold a high place 
among the scientific scholars of America 
until his death, which occurred in January, 
1882. 

GEORGE W. PECK, ex-governor of 
the state of Wisconsin and a famous 
journalist and humorist, was born in Jeffer- 
son county. New York, September 28, 1840. 
When he was about three years of age his 
parents removed to Wisconsin, settling near 
Whitewater, where young Peck received his 
education at the public schools. At fifteen 
he entered the office of the "Whitewater 
Register, " where he learned the printer's 
art. He helped start the "Jefferson County 
Republican" later on, but sold out his 

interest therein and set type in the office of 
11 



the "State Journal," at Madison. At the 
outbreak of the war he enlisted in the 
Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry as a private, and 
after serving four years returned a second 
lieutenant. He then started the " Ripon 
Representative," which he sold not long 
after, and removing to New York, was on 
the staff of Mark Pomeroy's "Democrat." 
Going to La Crosse, later, he conducted the 
La Crosse branch paper, a half interest in 
which he bought in 1874. He next started 
"Peck's Sun," which four years later he 
removed to Milwaukee. While in La 
Crosse he was chief of police one year, and 
also chief clerk of the Democratic assembly 
in 1874. It was in 1878 that Mr. Peck 
took his paper to Milwaukee, and achieved 
his first permanent success, the circulation 
increasing to 80,000. For ten years he was 
regarded as one of the most original, versa- 
tile and entertaining writers in the country, 
and he has delineated every phase of 
country newspaper life, army life, domestic 
experience, travel and city adventure. Up 
to 1890 Mr. Peck took but little part in 
politics, but in that year was elected mayor 
of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket. 
The following August he was elected gov- 
ernor of Wisconsin by a large majority, 
the "Bennett School Bill" figuring to a 
large extent in his favor. 

Mr. Peck, besides many newspaper arti- 
cles in his peculiar vein and numerous lect- 
ures, bubbling over with fun, is known to 
fame by the following books: "Peck's Bad 
Boy and his Pa," and "The Grocery Man 
and Peck's Bad Boy." 



CHARLES O'CONOR, who was for 
many years the acknowledged leader 
of the legal profession of New York City, 
was also conceded to be one of the greatest 
lawyers America has produced. He was 



188 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



born in New York City in 1804, his father 
being an educated Irish gentleman. Charles 
received a common-school education, and 
early took up the study of law, being ad- 
mitted to practice in 1824. His close ap- 
plication and untiring energy and industry 
soon placed him in the front rank of the 
profession, and within a few years he was 
handling many of the most important cases. 
One of the first great cases he had and which 
gained him a wide reputation, was that of 
"Jack, the Fugitive Slave," in 1835, in which 
his masterful argument before the supreme 
court attracted wide attention and com- 
ment. Charles O'Conor was a Democrat 
all his life. He did not aspire to office- 
holding, however, and never held any office 
except that of district attorney under Presi- 
dent Pierce's administration, which he only 
retained a short time. He took an active 
interest, however, in public questions, and 
was a member of the state (New York) con- 
stitutional convention in 1864. In 1868 he 
was nominated for the presidency by the 
" Extreme Democrats." His death occurred 
in May, 1884. 

SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, a noted 
American officer and major-general in 
the Confederate army, was born in Ken- 
tucky in 1823. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1844, served in 
the United States infantry and was later as- 
signed to commissary duty with the rank of 
captain. He served several years at fron- 
tier posts, and was assistant professor in the 
military academy in 1846. He was with 
General Scott in the Mexican war, and en- 
gaged in all the battles from Vera Cruz to 
the capture of the Mexican capital. He 
was wounded at Cherubusco and brevetted 
first lieutenant, and at Molino del Rey was 
brevetted captain. After the close of the 



Mexican war he returned to West Point as 
assistant instructor, and was then assigned 
to commissary duty at New York. He re- 
signed in 1855 and became su{>erintendent 
of construction of the Chicago custom house. 
He was made adjutant-genecal, with the 
rank of colonel, of Illinois militia, and was 
colonel of Illinois volunteers raised for the 
Utah expedition, but was not mustered into 
service. In i860 he removed to Kentucky, 
where he settled on a farm near Louisville 
and became inspector-general in cominand 
of the Kentucky Home Guards. At the 
opening of the Civil war he joined the Con- 
federate army, and was given command at 
Bowling Green, Kentucky, which he was > 
compelled to abandon after the capture of 
Fort Henry. He then retired to Fort Don- 
elson, and was there captured with sixteen 
thousand men, and an immense store of pro- 
visions, by General Grant, in February, 
1862. He was held as a prisoner of war 
at Fort Warren until August of that year. 
He commanded a division of Hardee's corps 
in Bragg's Army of the Tennessee, and was 
afterward assigned to the third division and 
participated in the battles of Chickamauga, 
and Murfreesboro. He was with Kirby 
Smith when that general surrendered his 
army to General Canby in May, 1865. He 
was an unsuccessful candidate for the vice- 
presidency on the Gold Democratic ticket 
with Senator John M. Palmer in 1896. 



SIMON KENTON, one of the famous pio- 
neers and scouts whose names fill the 
pages of the early history of our country, 
was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, 
April 3, 1755. In consequence of an affray, 
at the age of eighteen, young Kenton went 
to Kentucky, then the "Dark and Bloody 
Ground," and became associated with Dan- 
iel Boone and other pioneers of that region. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



189 



For a short time he acted as a scout and 
spy for Lord Dunmore, the British governor 
of Virginia, but afterward taking the side 
of the struggling colonists, participated in 
the war for independence west of the Alle- 
ghanies. In 1784 he returned to Virginia, 
but did not remain there long, going back 
with his family to Kentucky. From 
that time until 1793 he participated in all 
the combats and battles of that time, and 
until "Mad Anthony" Wayne swept the 
Valley of the Ohio, and settled the suprem-- 
acy of the whites in that region. Kenton 
laid claim to large tracts of land in the new 
country he had helped to open up, but 
through ignorance of law. and the growing 
value of the land, lost it all and was reduced 
to poverty. During the war with England 
in 1812-15, Kenton took part in the inva- 
sion of Canada with the Kentucky troops 
and participated in the battle of the Thames.- 
He finally had land granted him by the 
legislature of Kentucky, and received a pen- 
sion from the United States government. 
He died in Logan county, Ohio, April 29, 
1836. 

ELIHU BENJAMIN WASHBURNE, an 
American statesman of eminence, was 
born in Livermore, Maine, September 23, 
1 8 16. He learned the trade of printer, but 
abandoned that calling at the age of eight- 
een and entered the Kent's Hill Academy at 
Reading, Maine, and then took up the study 
of law, reading in Hallowell, Boston, and at 
the Harvard Law School. He began prac- 
tice at Galena, Illinois, in 1840. He was 
elected to congress in 1852, and represented 
his district in that body continuously until 
March, 1869, and at the time of his retire- 
ment he had served a greater number of 
consecutive terms than any other member 
of the house. In 1873 President Grant ap- 



pointed him secretary of state, which posi- 
tion he resigned to accept that of minister 
to France. During the Franco- Prussian 
war, including the siege of Paris and the 
reign of the Commune, Mr. Washburne re- 
mained at his post, protecting the lives and 
property of his countrymen, as weil as that 
of other foreign residents in Paris, while the 
ministers of all other powers abandoned 
their posts at a time when they were most 
needed. As far as possible he e.xtended 
protection to unfortunate German residents, 
who were the particular objects of hatred of 
the populace, and his firmness and the suc- 
cess which attended his efforts won the ad- 
miration of all Europe. Mr. Washburne 
died at Chicago, Illinois, October 22, 1887. 



^X riLLIAM CRAMP, one of the most 
V V e.xtensive shipbuilders of this coun- 
try, was born in Kensington, then a suburb, 
now a part of Philadelphia, in 1806. He 
received a thorough English education, and 
when he left school was associated with 
Samuel Grice, one of the most eminent 
naval architects of his day. In 1830, hav- 
ing mastered all the details of shipbuilding, 
Mr. Cramp engaged in business on his own 
account. By reason of ability and e.xcel- 
lent work he prospered from the start, until 
now, in the hands of his sons, under the 
name of William Cramp & Sons' Ship and 
Engine Building Company, it has become the 
most complete shipbuilding plant and naval 
arsenal in the western hemisphere, and fully 
equal to any in the world. As Mr. Cramp's 
sons attained manhood they learned their 
father's profession, and were admitted to a 
partnership. In 1872 the firm was incor- 
porated under the title given above. Until 
i860 wood was used in building vessels, al- 
though pace was kept with all advances in 
the art of shipbuilding. At the opening of 



190 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 






the war came an unexpected demand for 
war vessels, which they promptly met. The 
sea-going ironclad "New Ironsides" was 
built by them in 1862, followed by a num- 
ber of formidable ironclads and the cruiser 
"Chattanooga." They subsequently built 
several war vessels for the Russian and 
other governments which added to their 
reputation. When the American steamship 
line was established in 1870, the Cramps 
were commissioned to build for it four first- 
class iron steamships, the "Pennsylvania," 
"Ohio," "Indiana" and "Illinois," which 
they turned out in rapid order, some of the 
finest specimens of the naval architecture of 
their day. William Cramp remained at the 
head of the great company he had founded 
until his death, which occurred January 6, 

1879. 

Charles H. Cramp, the successor of his 
father as head of the William Cramp & 
Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company, 
was born in Philadelphia May 9, 1829, and 
received an excellent education in his native 
city, which he , sedulously sought to sup- 
plement by close study until he became 
an authority on general subjects and the 
best naval architect on the western hemis- 
phere. Many of the best vessels of our 
new navy were built by this immense con- 
cern. 

WASHINGTON ALLSTON, probably 
the greatest American painter, was 
born in South Carolina in 1779. He was 
sent to school at the age of seven years at 
Newport, Rhode Island, where he met Ed- 
ward Malbone, two years his senior, and 
who later became a pamter of note. The 
friendship that sprang up between them un- 
doubtedly influenced young Allston in the 
choice of a profession. He graduated from 
Harvard in 1800, and went to England the 



following year, after pursuing his studies for 
a year under his friend Malbone at his home 
in South Carolina. He became a student 
at the Royal Academy where the great 
American, Benjamin West, presided, and 
who became his intimate friend. Allston 
later went to Paris, and then to Italy, where 
four years were spent, mostly at Rome. In 
1809 he returned to America, but soon after 
returned to London, having married in the 
meantime a sister of Dr. Channing. In 
■ a short time his first great work appeared, 
"The Dead Man Restored to Life by the 
Bones of Elisha," which took the British 
Association prize and firmly established his 
reputation. Other paintings followed in 
quick succession, the greatest among which 
were "Uriel in the Center of the Sun," 
"Saint Peter Liberated by the Angel," and 
"Jacob's Dream," supplemented by many 
smaller pieces. Hard work, and grief at the 
death of his wife began to tell upon his health, 
and he left London in 1818 for America. 
The same year he was elected an associate 
of the Royal Academy. During the ne.xt 
few years he painted "Jeremiah," "Witch 
ofEndor," and "Beatrice." In 1830 Alls- 
ton married a daughter of Judge Dana, and 
went to Cambridge, which was his home 
until his death. Here he produced the 
"Vision of the Bloody Hand," "Rosalie," 
and many less noted pieces, and had given 
one week of labor to his unfinished master- 
piece, "Belshazzar's Feast," when death 
ended his career July 9, 1843. 



JOHN ROACH, ship builder and manu- 
facturer, whose career was a marvel 0/ 
industrial labor, and who impressed his in- 
dividuality and genius upon the times in. 
which he lived more, perhaps, than anv 
other manufacturer in America. He was 
born at Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ire- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



191 



land, December 25, 181 5, the son of a 
wealthy merchant. He attended school 
until he was thirteen, when his father be- 
came financially embarrassed and failed 
and shortly after died; John determined to 
come to America and carve out a fortune 
for himself. He landed in New York at the 
age of sixteen, and soon obtained employ- 
ment at the Howell Iron Works in New Jer- 
sey, at twenty-five cents a day. He soon 
made himself a place in the world, and at 
the end of three years had saved some 
twelve hundred dollars, which he lost by 
the failure of his employer, in whose hands 
it was left. Returning to New York he 
began to learn how to make castings for 
marine engines and ship work. Having 
again accumulated one thousand dollars, in 
company with three fellow workmen, he 
purchased a small foundry in New York, 
but soon became sole proprietor. At the 
end of four years he had saved thirty thou- 
sand dollars, besides enlarging his works. 
In 1856 his works were destroyed by a 
boiler explosion, and being unable to collect 
th2 insurance, was left, after paying his 
debts, without a dollar. However, his 
credit and reputation for integrity was good, 
and he built the Etna Iron Works, giving it 
capacity to construct larger marine engines 
than any previously built in this country. 
Here he turned out immense engines for 
the steam ram Dunderberg, for the war ves- 
sels Winooski and Neshaning, and other 
large vessels. To accommodate his increas- 
ing business, Mr. Roach, in 1869, pur- 
chased the Morgan Iron Works, one of the 
largest in New York, and shortly after sev- 
I eral others. In 1871 he bought the Ches- 
I ter ship yards, which he added to largely, 
j erecting a rolling mill and blast furnace, and 
j providing every facility for building a ship 
I oat of the ore and timber. This immense 



plant covered a large area, was valued at 
several millions of dollars, and was known 
as the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding 
and Engine Works, of which Mr. Roach 
was the principal owner. He built a large 
percentage of the iron vessels now iiying 
the American flag, the bulk of his business 
being for private parties. In 1875 he built 
the sectional dry docks at Pensacola. He, 
about this time, drew the attention of the 
government to the use of compound marine 
engines, and thus was the means of im- 
proving the speed and economy of the ves- 
sels of our new navy. In 1883 Mr. Roach 
commenced work on the three cruisers for 
the governm.ent, the "Chicago," "Boston" 
and ''Atlanta," and the dispatch boat 
" Dolphin." For some cause the secretary 
of the navy refused to receive the latter and 
decided that Mr. Roach's contract would 
not hold. This embarrassed Mr. Roach, 
as a large amount of his capital was in- 
volved in these contracts, and for the pro- 
tection of bondsmen and creditors, July 18, 
1885, he made an assignment, but the 
financial trouble broke down his strong con- 
stitution, and January 10, 1887, he died. 
His son, John B. Roach, succeeded to the 
shipbuilding interests, while Stephen W. 
Roach inherited the Morgan Iron Works at 
New York. 

JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, one of 
the two great painters who laid the 
foundation of true American art, was born 
in Boston in 1737, one year earlier than his 
great contemporary, Benjamin West. His 
education was limited to the common schools 
of that time, and his training in art he ob- 
tained by his own observation and experi- 
ments solely. When he was about seven- 
teen years old he had mapped out his future, 
however, by choosing painting as his pro- 



192 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



fession. If he ever studied under any 
teacher in his early efforts, we have no au- 
thentic account of it, and tradition credits 
the young artist's wonderful success en- 
tirely to his own talent and untiring effort. 
It is almost incredible that at the age of 
twenty-three years his income from his 
works aggregated fifteen hundred dollars 
per annum, a very great sum in those days. 
In 1774 he went to Europe in search of ma- 
terial for study, which was so rare in his 
native land. After some time spent in Italy 
he finally took up his permanent residence 
in England. In 1783 he was made a mem- 
ber of the Royal Academy, and later his 
son had the high honor of becoming lord 
chancellor of England and Lord Lyndhurst. 
Many specimens of Copley's work are to 
be found in the Memorial Hall at Harvard 
and in the Boston Museum, as well as a few 
of the works upon which he modeled his 
style. Copley was essentially a portrait 
painter, though his historical paintings at- 
tained great celebrity, his masterpiece 
being his " Death of Major Pierson," though 
that distinction has by some been given to 
his "Death of Chatham." It is said that 
he never saw a good picture until he was 
thirty-five years old, yet his portraits prior 
to that period are regarded as rare speci- 
mens. He died in 181 5. 



HENRY B. PLANT, one of the greatest 
railroad men of the country, became 
famous as president of the Plant system of 
railway and steamer lines, and also the 
Southern & Texas Express Co. He was 
born in October, 18 19, at Branford, 
Connecticut, and entered the railroad serv- 
ice in 1844, serving as express messenger 
on the Hartford & New Haven Railroad until 
1853, during which time he had entire 
charge of the express' business of that road. 



He went south in 1853 and established ex- 
press lines on various southern railways, and 
in 1 86 1 organized the Southern Express 
Co., and became its president. In 1879 he 
purchased, with others, the Atlantic & Gulf 
Railroad of Georgia, and later reorganized 
the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad, 
of which he became president. He pur- 
chased and rebuilt, in 1880, the Savannah 
& Charleston Railroad, now Charleston & 
Savannah. Not long after this he organ- 
ized the Plant Investment Co., to control 
these railroads and advance their interests 
generally, and later established a steamboat 
liiie on the St. John's river, in Florida. 
From 1853 until i860 he was general 
superintendent of the southern division of 
the Adams Express Co., and in 1867 be- 
came president of the Texas Express Co. 
The "Plant system" of railway, steamer 
and steamship lines is one of the greatest 
business corporations of the southern states. 



WADE HAMPTON, a noted Confeder- 
ate officer, was born at Columbia, 
South Carolina, in 18 18. He graduated 
from the South Carolina College, took an 
active part in politics, and was twice elected 
to the legislature of his state. In 1861 he 
joined the Confederate army, and command- 
ed the " Hampton Legion " at the first bat- 
tle of Bull Run, in July, 1861. He did 
meritorious service, was wounded, and pro- 
moted to brigadier-general. He command- 
ed a brigade at Seven Pines, in 1862, and 
was again wounded. He was engaged in 
the battle of Antietam in September of the 
same year, and participated in the raid into 
Pennsylvania in October. In 1863 he was 
with Lee at Gettysburg, where he was 
wounded for the third time. He was pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and 
commanded a troop of cavalry in Lee's 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



198 



arm}' during 1864, and was in numerous en- 
{jagements. In 1865 he was in South Car- 
olina, and commanded the cavalry rear 
guard of the Confederate army in its stub- 
born retreat before General Sherman on his 
advance toward Richmond. 

After the war Hampton took an active 
part in politics, and was a prominent figure 
at the Democratic national convention in 
1868, which nominated Seymour and Blair 
for president and vice-president. He was 
governor of South Carolina, and took his 
seat in the United States senate in 1879, 
where he became a conspicuous figure in 
national affairs. 



NIICOLA TESLA, one of the most cele- 
brated electricians America has known, 
was born in 1857, at Smiljau, Lika, Servia. 
He descended from an old and representative 
family of that country. His father was a 
a minister of the Greek church, of high rank, 
while his mother was a woman of remarka- 
ble skill in the construction of looms, churns 
and the machinery required in a rural home. 
N'.kola received early education in the 
public schools of Gospich, when he was 
sent to the higher "Real Schule " at Ivarl- 
stadt, where, after a three years' course, 
he graduated in 1873. He devoted him- 
self to experiments in electricity and 
magnetism, to the chagrin of his father, 
who had destined him for the ministry, 
but giving way to the boy's evident genius 
he was allowed to continue his studies in 
the polytechnic school at Gratz. He in- 
herited a wonderful intuition which enabled 
him to see through the intricacies of ma- 
chinery, and despite his instructor's demon- 
stration that a dynamo could not be oper- 
ated without commutators or brushes, 
began experiments which finally resulted in 
his rotating field motors. After the study 



of languages at Prague and Buda-Pesth, he 
became associated with M. Puskas, who 
had introduced the telephone into Hungary. 
He invented several improvements, but 
being unable to reap the necessary benefit 
from them, he, in search of a wider field, 
went to Paris, where he found employment 
with one of the electric lighting companies 
as electrical engineer. Soon he set his face 
westward, and coming to the United States 
for a time found congenial employment with 
Thomas A. Edison. Finding it impossible, 
overshadowed as he was, to carry out his 
own ideas he left the Edison works to join 
a company formed to place his own inven- 
tions on the market. He perfected his 
rotary field principle, adapting it to circuits 
then in operation. It is said of him that 
some of his proved theories will change the 
entire electrical science. It would, in an 
f.rticle of this length, be impossible to ex- 
plain all that Tesla accomplished for the 
practical side of electrical engineering. 
His discoveries formed the basis of the at- 
tempt to utilize the water power of Niagara 
Falls. His work ranges far beyond the 
vast department of polyphase currents and 
high potential lighting and includes many 
inventions in arc lighting, transformers, 
pyro and thermo-magnetic motors, new 
forms of incandescent lamps, unipolar dyna- 
mos and many others. 



CHARLES B. LEWIS won fame as an 
American humorist under the name of 
" M. Quad." It is said he owes his 
celebrity originally to the fact that he was 
once mixed up in a boiler explosion on the 
Ohio river, and the impressions he received 
from the event he set up from his case when 
he was in the composing room' of an ob- 
scure Michigan paper. His style possesses a 
peculiar quaintness, and there runs tnrough 



194 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



it a vein of philosopliy. Mr. Lewis was 
born in 1S44, near a town called Liverpool, 
Ohio. He was, however, raised in Lansing, 
Michigan, where he spent a year in an agri- 
cultural college, going from there to the 
composing room of the "Lansing Demo- 
crat." At the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed in the service, remained during the 
entire war, and then returned to Lansing. 
The explosion of the boiler that "blew him 
into fame," took place two years later, while 
he was on his way south. When he re- 
covered physically, he brought suit for dam- 
ages against the steamboat company, which 
he gained, and was awarded a verdict of 
twelve thousand dollars for injuries re- 
ceived. It was while he was employed by 
the "Jacksonian" of Pontiac, Mich., that he 
set up his account of how he felt while being 
blown up. He says that he signed it "M 
Quad," because "a bourgeoise em quad is 
useless except in its own line — it won't 
justify with any other type." Soon after, 
because of the celebrity he attained by this 
screed, Mr. Lewis secured a place on the 
staff of the " Detroit Free Press," and made 
for that paper a wide reputation. His 
sketches of the "Lime I'iiln Club" and 
" Brudder Gardner " are perhaps the best 
known of his humorous writings. 



HIRAM S. MAXIM, the famous inventor, 
was born in Sangersville, Maine, 
February 5, 1840, the son of Isaac W. 
and Harriet B. Maxim. The town of his 
birth was but a small place, in the 
woods, on the confines of civilization, 
and the family endured many hardships. 
They were without means and entirely 
dependent on themselves to make out of 
raw materials all they needed. The mother 
was an expert spinner, weaver, dyer and 
seamstress and the father a trapper, tanner, 



miller, blacksmith, carpenter, mason and 
farmer. Amid such surroundings young 
Maxim gave early promise of remarkable 
aptitude. With the universal Yankee jack- 
knife the products of his skill excited the 
wonder and interest of the locality. His 
parents did not encourage his latent genius 
but apprenticed him to a coach builder. 
Four years he labored at this uncongenial 
trade but at the end of that time he forsook 
it and entered a machine shop at Fitchburg, 
Massachusetts. Soon mastering the details 
of that business and that of mechanical 
drawing, he went to Boston as the foreman 
of the philosophical instrument manufactory. 
From thence he went to New York and with 
the Novelty Iron Works Shipbuilding Co. 
he gained experience in those trades. His 
inventions up to this time consisted of 
improvements in steam engines, and an 
automatic gas machine, which came into 
general use. In 1877 he turned his attention 
to electricity, and in 1878 produced an 
incandescent lamp, that would burn 1,000 
hours. He was the first to design a process 
for flashing electric carbons, and the first 
to "standardize" carbons for electric light- 
ing. In 1880 he visited Europe and exhibit- 
ing, at the Paris Exposition of 1881, a self- 
regulating machine, was decorated with the 
Legion of Honor. In 1883 he returned to 
London as the European representative of the 
United States Electric Light Co. An incident 
of his boyhood, in which the recoil of a rifle 
was noticed by him, and the apparent loss 
of power shown, in 188 1-2 prompted the 
invention of a gun which utilizes the recoil to 
automatically load and fire seven hundred 
and seventy shots per minute. The Maxim- 
Nordenfelt Gun Co., with a capital of nine 
million dollars, grew from this. In 1883 he 
patented his electric training gear for large 
guns. And later turned his attention to fly- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



195 



ing machines, which he claimed were not an 
impossibility. He took out over one hundred 
patents for smokeless gunpowder, and for pe- 
troleum and other motors and autocycles. 



JOHN DAVISON ROCKEFELLER, 
one of America's very greatest financiers 
and philanthropists, was born in Richford, 
Tioga county, New York, July 8, 1839. He 
received a common-school education in his 
native place, and in 1853, when his parents 
removed to Cleveland, Ohio, he entered the 
high school of that city. After a two-years' 
course of diligent work, he entered the com- 
mission and forwarding house of Hewitt & 
Tuttle, of Cleveland, remaining with the 
firm some years, and then began business 
for himself, forming a partnership with 
Morris B. Clark. Mr. Rockefeller was then 
but nineteen years of age, and during the 
year i860, in connection with others, they 
started the oil refining business, under the 
firm name of Andrews, Clark & Co. Mr. 
Rockefeller and Mr. Andrews purchased the 
interest of their associates, and, after taking 
William Rockefeller into the firm, established 
offices in Cleveland under the name of 
William Rockefeller & Co. Shortly after 
this the house of Rockefeller & Co. was es- 
tablished in New York for the purpose of 
finding a market for their products, -and two 
years later all the refining companies were 
consolidated under the firm name of Rocke- 
feller, Andrews & Flagler. This firm was 
succeeded in 1870 by the Standard Oil 
Company of Ohio, said to be the most 
gigantic business corporation of modern 
times. John D. Rockefeller's fortune has 
been variously estimated at from one hun- 
dred million to two hundred million dollars. 
Mr. Rockefeller's philanthropy mani- 
fested itself principally through the American 
Baptist Educational Society. He donated 



the building for the Spelman Institute at 
Atlanta, Georgia, a school for the instruction 
of negroes. His other gifts were to the 
University of Rochester, Cook Academy, 
Peddie Institute, and Vassar College, be- 
sides smaller gifts to many institutions 
throughout the country. His princely do- 
nations, however, were to the University of 
Chicago. His first gift to this institution 
was a conditional offer of six hundred thou- 
sand dollars in 1889, and when this amount 
was paid he added one million more. Dur- 
ing 1892 he made it two gifts of one million 
each, and all told, his donations to this one 
institution aggregated between seven and 
eight millions of dollars. 



JOHN M. PALMER.— For over a third 
k-» of a century this gentleman occupied a 
prominent place in the political world, both 
in the state of Illinois and on the broader 
platform of national issues. 

Mr. Palmer was born at Eagle Creek, 
Scott county, Kentucky, September 13, 
1817. The famil}' subsequently removed 
to Christian county, in the same state, where 
he acquired a common-school education, and 
made his home until 1831. His father was 
opposed to slavery, and in the latter year 
removed to Illinois and settled near Alton. 
In 1834 John entered Alton College, or- 
ganized on the manual-labor plan, but his 
funds failing, abandoned it and entered a 
cooper shop. He subsequently was en- 
gaged in peddling, and teaching a district 
school near Canton. In 1838 he began the 
study of law, and the following year re- 
moved to Carlinville, where, in December of 
that year, he was admitted to the bar. He 
was shortly after defeated for county clerk. 
In 1843 he was elected probate judge. In 
the constitutional convention of 1847, Mr. 
Palmer was a delegate, and from 1849 to 



106 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH7\ 



1 85 I he was county judge. In 1852 he be- 
came a member of the state senate, but not 
being with his party on the slavery question 
he resigned that office in 1854. In 1856 
Mr. Pahner was chairman of the first Re- 
publican state convention held in Illinois, 
and the same year was a delegate to the 
national convention. In i860 he was an 
elector on the Lincoln ticket, and on the 
breaking out of the war entered the service 
as colonel of the Fourteenth Illinois Infan- 
try, but was shortly after brevetted brigadier- 
general. In August, 1862, he organized 
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illi- 
nois Infantry, but in September he was 
placed in command of the first division of 
the Army of the Mississippi, afterward was 
promoted to the rank of major-general. In 
1865 he was assigned to the military ad- 
ministration in Kentucky. In 1867 General 
Pfllmer was elected governor of Illinois and 
served four years. In 1872 he Vvent with 
the Liberal Republicans, who supported 
Horace Greeley, after which time he was 
identified with the Democratic party. In 
1890 he was elected United States senator 
from Illinois, and served as such for six 
years. In 1896, on the adoption of the sil- 
ver plank in the platform of the Democratic 
party, General Palmer consented to lead, 
as presidential candidate, the National Dem- 
oc "-ats, or Gold Democracy. 



WILLIAM H. BEARD, the humorist 
among American painters, was born 
at Painesville, Ohio, in 1 821. His father, 
James H. Beard, was also a painter of na- 
tional reputation. William H. Beard be- 
gan his career as a traveling portrait 
painter. He pursued his studies in New 
York, and later removed to Buffalo, where 
he achieved reputation. He then went to 



Italy and after a short stay returned to New 
York and opened a studio. One of his 
earliest paintings was a small picture called 
"Cat and Kittens," which was placed in 
the National Academy on exhibition. Among 
his best productions are "Raining Cats and 
Dogs," "The Dance of Silenus," "Bears 
on a Bender," "Bulls and Bears," " Whoo!" 
" Grimalkin's Dream," "Little Red Riding 
Hood," "The Guardian of the Flag." His 
animal pictures convey the most ludicrous 
and satirical ideas, and the intelligent, 
human expression in their faces is most 
comical. Some artists and critics have re- 
fused to give Mr. Beard a place among the 
tirst circles in art, solely on account of the 
class of subjects he has chosen. 



WW. CORCORAN, the noted philan- 
throphist, was born at Georgetown, 
District of Columbia, December 27, 1798. 
At the age of twenty-five he entered the 
banking business in Washington, and in 
time became very wealthy. He was 
noted for his magnificent donations to char- 
ity. Oak Hill cemetery was donated to 
Georgetown in 1847, and ten years later the 
Corcoran Art Gallery, Temple of Art, was 
presented to the city of Washington. The 
uncompleted building was utilized by the 
government as quartermaster's headquar- 
ters during the war. The building was 
completed after the war at a cost of a mil- 
lion and a half dollars, all the gift of Mr. 
Corcoran. The Louise Home for Women 
is another noble charity to his credit. Its 
object is the care of women of gentle breed- 
ing who in declining years are without 
means of support. In addition to this he 
gave liberally to many worthy institutions 
of learning and charity. He died at Wash- 
ington February 24, 1888. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



197 



ALBERT BIERSTADT, the noted paint- 
er of American landscape, was born in 
Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1829, and was 
brought to America by his parents at the 
age of two years. He received his early 
education here, but returned to Dusseldorf 
to study painting, and also went to Rome. 
On his return to America he accompanied 
Lander's expedition across the continent, in 
1858, and soon after produced his most 
popular work, "The Rocky Mountains — 
Lander's Peak. " Its boldness and grandeur 
were so unusual that it made him famous. 
The picture sold for twenty-five thousand 
dollars. In 1S67 Mr. Bierstadt went to 
Europe, with a government commission, 
and gathered materials for his great historic- 
al work. "Discovery of the North River 
by Hendrik Hudson." Others of his great 
works were "Storm in the Rocky Mount- 
ains," " Valley of the Yosemite," "North 
Fork of the Platte," "Diamond Pool," 
"Mount Hood," "Mount Rosalie," and 
"The Sierra Nevada Mountains." His 
"Estes Park" sold for fifteen thousand 
dollars, and "Mount Rosalie" brought 
thirty-five thousand dollars. His smaller 
Rocky mountain scenes, hovi^ever, are vast- 
ly superior to his larger works in execution 
and coloring. 

ADDISON CAMMACK, a famous mill- 
ionaire Wall street speculator, was 
born in Kentucky. When sixteen years old 
he ran away from home and went to New 
Orleans, where he went to work in a ship- 
ping house. He outlived and outworked 
all the partners, and became the head of the 
firm before the opening of the war. At 
that time he fitted out small vessels and en- 
gaged in running the blockade of southern 
ports and carrymg ammunition, merchan- 
dise, etc., to the soutiiern people. This 



made him a fortune. At the close of the 
war he quit business and went to New 
York. For two years he did not enter any 
active business, but seemed to be simply an 
on-looker in the great speculative center of 
America. He was observing keenly the 
methods and financial machinery, however, 
and when, in 1867, he formed a partnership 
with the popular Charles J. Osborne, the 
firm began to prosper. He never had an 
office on the street, but wandered into the 
various brokers' offices and placed his orders 
as he saw fit. In 1873 he dissolved his 
partnership with Osborne and operated 
alone. He joined a band of speculative 
conspirators known as the "Twenty-third 
party," and was the ruling spirit in that or- 
ganization for the control of the stock mar- 
ket. He was always on the ' ' bear " side and 
the only serious obstacle he ever encoun- 
tered was the persistent boom in industrial 
stocks, particularly sugar, engineered by 
James R. Keane. Mr. Cammack fought 
Keane for two years, and during the time is 
said to have lost no less than two million 
dollars before he abandoned the fight. 



WALT. WHITMAN.— Foremost among 
thelesserpoetsof the latter part of the 
nineteenth century, the gentleman whose 
name adorns the head of this article takes 
a conspicuous place. 

Whitman was born at West Hills, Long 
Island, New York, May 13, 1809. In the 
schools of Brooklyn he laid the foundation 
of his education, and early in life learned the 
printer's trade. For a time he taught coun- 
try schools in his native state. In 1846-7 
he was editor of the " Brooklyn Eagle, " 
but in 1848-9 was on the editorial staff of 
the "Crescent," of New Orleans. He 
made an extended tour throughout the 
United States and Canada, and returned to 



i98 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Brooklyn, where, in 1850, he pubhshed the 
"Freeman. " For some years succeeding 
'.his he was engaged as carpenter and builder. 
During the Civil war. Whitman acted as 
a volunteer nurse in the hospitals at 
Washington and vicinity and from the close 
of hostilities until 1873 he was employed 
in various clerkships in the government 
offices in the nation's capital. In the latter 
year he was stricken with paralysis as a 
result of his labors in the hospital, it is 
said, and being partially disabled lived for 
many years at Camden, New Jersey. 

The first edition of the work which was 
to bring him fame, "Leaves of Grass," was 
published in 1855 and was but a small 
volume of about ninety-four pages. Seven 
or eight editions of "Leaves of Grass" have 
been issued, each enlarged and enriched with 
new poems. "Drum Taps," at first a 
separate publication, has been incorporated 
with the others. This volume and one 
prose writing entitled "Specimen Days and 
Collect," constituted his whole work. 

Walt. Whitman died at Camden, New 
Jersey, March 26, 1892. 



HENRY DUPONT, who became cele- 
brated as America's greatest manufact- 
urer of gunpowder, was a native of Dela- 
ware, born August 8, 1812. He received 
his education in its higher branches at the 
United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated and entered 
the army as second lieutenant of artillery in 
1833. In 1834 he resigned and became 
proprietor of the extensive gunpowder 
manufacturing plant that bears his name, 
near Wilmington, Delaware. His large 
business interests interfered with his tak- 
ing any active participation in political 
life, although for many years he served 
as adjutant-general of his native state, and 



during the war as major-general command- 
ing the Home Guards. He died August 8, 
1889. His son, Henry A. Dupont, also was 
a native of Delaware, and was born July 30, 
1838. After graduating from West Point 
in 1 86 1, he entered the army as second \\ 
lieutenant of engineers. Shortly after he 
was transferred to the Fifth Artillery as first 
lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank 
of captain in 1864, serving in camp and 
garrison most of the time. He was in com- 
mand of a battery in the campaign of 
1863-4. As chief of artillery of the army of 
West Virginia, he figured until the close of 
the war, being in the battles of Opequan, 
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, besides 
many minor engagements. He afterward 
acted as instructor in the artillery school at 
Fortress Monroe, and on special duty at 
West Point. He resigned from the army 
March i, 1875. 



WILLIAM DEERING, one of the fa- 
mous manufacturers of America, and 
also a philanthropist and patron of educa- 
tion, was born in Maine in 1826. His an- 
cestors were English, having settled in New 
England in 1634. Early in life it was Will- 
iam's intention to become a physician, and 
after completing his common-school educa- 
tion, when about eighteen years of age, he 
began an apprenticeship with a physician. 
A short time later, however, at the request 
of his father, he took charge of his father's 
business interests, which included a woolen 
mill, retail store and grist mill, after which 
he became agent for a dry goods commission 
house in Portland, where he was married. 
Later he became partner in the firm, and 
removed to New York. The business pros- 
pered, and after a number of years, on ac- 
count of failing health, Mr. Deering sold his 
interest to his partner, a Mr. Milner. The 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



199 



business has since made Mr. Milner a mill- 
ionaire many times over. A few years 
later Mr. Deering located in Chicago. His 
beginning in the manufacture of reapers, 
which has since made his name famous, 
was somewhat of an accident. He had 
loaned money to a man in that business, 
and in 1878 was compelled to buy out the 
business to protect his interests. The busi- 
ness developed rapidly and grew to immense 
proportions. The factories now cover si.xty- 
two acres of ground and employ many thou- 
sands of men. 



JOHN McAllister schofield, an 
American general, was born in Chautau- 
qua county. New York, September 29, 1831. 
He graduated at West Point in 1853, and 
was for five years assistant professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in that institution. In 1861 
he entered the volunteer service as major of 
the First Missouri Volunteers, and was ap- 
pointed chief of stafi by General Lyon, under 
whom he fought at the battle of Wilson's 
Creek. In November, 1861, he was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and 
was placed in command of the Missouri 
militia until November, 1862, and of the 
army of the frontier from that time until 
1863. In 1862 he was made major-general 
of volunteers, and was placed in command of 
the Department of the Missouri, and in 1864 
of the Department of the Ohio. During the 
campaign through Georgia General Scho- 
field was in command of the Twenty-third 
Army Corps, and was engaged in most of the 
fighting of that famous campaign. Novem- 
ber 30, 1864, he defeated Hood's army at 
Franklin, Tennessee, and then joined Gen- 
eral Thomas at Nashville. He took part in 
the battle of Nashville, where Hood's army 
was destroyed. In January, 1865, he led 
his corps into North Carolina, captured 



Wilmington, fought the battle of Kingston, 
and joined General Sherman at Goldsboro 
March 22, 1865. He executed the details 
of the capitulation of General Johnston to 
Sherman, which practically closed the war. 
In June, 1868, General Schofield suc- 
ceeded Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of 
war, but was the next year appointed major- 
general of the United States army, and order- 
ed to the Department of the Missouri. From 
1870 to 1876 he was in command of the De- 
partment of the Pacific; from 1876 to 1881 
superintendent of the West Point Military 
Academy; in 1883 he was in charge of the 
Department of the Missouri, and in 1886 of 
the division of the Atlantic. In 1888 he 
became general-in-chief of the United States 
army, and in February, 1895, was appoint- 
ed lieutenant-general by President Cleve- 
land, that rank having been revived by con- 
gress. In September, 1895, he was retired 
from active service. 



LEWIS WALLACE, an American gen- 
eral and famous author, was born iri 
Brookville, Indiana, April 10, 1827. He 
served in the Mexican war as first lieutenant 
of a company of Indiana Volunteers. After 
his return from Mexico he was admitted to 
the bar, and practiced law in Covington and 
Crawfordsville, Indiana, until 1861. At the 
opening of the war he was appointed ad- 
jutant-general of Indiana, and soon after be- 
came colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Vol- 
unteers. He defeated a force of Confeder- 
ates at Romney, West Virginia, and was 
made brigadier-general in September, 1861. 
At the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862 he 
commanded a division, and was engaged in 
the second day's fight at Shiloh. In 1863 
his defenses about Cincinnati saved that city 
from capture by Kirby Smith. At Monoc- 
acy in July, 1864, he was defeated, but 



200 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



his resistance delayed the advance of Gen- 
eral Early and thus saved Washington from 
capture. 

General Wallace was a member of the 
court that tried the assassins of President 
Lincoln, and also of that before whom Cap- 
tain Henry Wirtz, who had charge of the 
Andersonville prison, was tried. In 1881 
General Wallace was sent as minister to 
Turkey. When not in official service he 
devoted much of his time to literature. 
Among his better known works are his 
"Fair God," "Ben Hur," "Prince of 
India," and a " Life of Benjamin Harrison." 



THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD, an Ameri- 
can statesman and diplomat, was born 
at Wilmington, Delaware, October 29, 1828. 
He obtained his education at an Episcopal 
academy at Flushing, Long Island, and 
after a short service in a mercantile house in 
New York, he returned to Wilmington and 
entered his father's law office to prepare 
himself for the practice of that profession. 
He was admitted to the bar in 185 1. He 
was appointed to the office of United States 
district attorney for the state of Delaware, 
serving one year. In 1869 he was elected to 
the United States senate, and continuously 
represented his state in that body until 1S85, 
and in 1881, when Chester A. Arthur entered 
the presidential chair, Mr. Bayard was 
chosen president pro tcuiporc of the senate. 
He had also served on the famous electoral 
commission that decided the Hayes-Tilden 
contest in 1876-7. In 1885 President Cleve- 
land appointed Mr. Bayard secretary of 
state. At the beginning of Cleveland's sec- 
ond term, in 1893, Mr. Bayard was selected 
for the post of ambassador at the court of 
St. James, London, and was the first to hold 
that rank in American diplomacy, serving 
until the beginning of the McKinley admin- 



istration. The questions for adjustment at 
that time between the two governments 
were the Behring Sea controversy and the 
Venezuelan boundary question. He was 
very popular in England because of his 
tariff views, and because of his criticism of 
the protective policy of the United States 
in his public speeches delivered in London, 
Edinburgh and other places, he received, in 
March, 1896, a vote of censure in the lower 
house of congress. 



TOHN WORK GARRETT, for so many 
<J years at the head of the great Baltimore 
& Ohio railroad system, was born in Balti- 
more, Maryland, July 31, 1820. His father, 
Robert Garrett, an enterprising merchant, 
had amassed a large fortune from a small 
beginning. The son entered Lafayette Col- 
lege in 1834, but left the following year and 
entered his father's counting room, and in 
1839 became a partner. John W. Gar- 
rett took a great interest in the develop- 
ment of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He 
was elected one of the directors in 1857, 
and was its president from 1858 until his 
death. When he took charge of the road 
it was in an embarrassed condition, but 
within a year, for the first time in its e.xist- 
ence, it paid a dividend, the increase in its 
net gains being $725,385. After the war, 
during which the road suffered much damage 
from the Confederates, numerous branches 
and connecting roads were built or acquired, 
until it reached colossal proportions. Mr. 
Garrett was also active in securing a regular 
line of steamers between Baltimore and 
Bremen, and between the same port and 
Liverpool. He was one of the most active 
trustees of Johns Hopkins University, and a 
liberal contributor to the Young Men's 
Christian Association of Baltimore. He 
died September 26, 1884. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



201 



Robert Garrett, the son of John W. 
Garrett, was born in Baltimore April 9, 
1847, and graduated from Princeton in 1867. 
He received a business education in the 
banking house of his father, and in 1871 
became president of the Valley Railroad of 
Virginia. He was made third vice-presi- 
dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 
1879, and first vice-president in 1881. He 
succeeded his father as president in 1884. 
Robert Garrett died July 29, 1896. 



C' 



< ARL SCHURZ, a noted German-Ameri- 
V> can statesman, was born in Liblar, Prus- 
sia, March 2, 1829. He studied at the Uni- 
versity of Bonn, and in 1849 was engaged in 
an attempt to excite an insurrection at that 
place. After the surrender of Rastadt by 
the revolutionists, in the defense of which 
Schurz took part, he decided to emigrate to 
America. He resided in Philadelphia three 
years, and then settled in Watertown, Wis- 
consin, and in 1859 removed to Milwaukee, 
where he practiced law. On the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party he became a 
leader of the German element and entered 
the campaign for Lincoln in i860. He was 
appointed minister to Spain in 1861, but re- 
signed in December of that year to enter 
the army. He was appointed brigadier- 
general in 1862, and participated in the 
second battle of Bull Run, and also at 
Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg he had 
temporary command of the Eleventh Army 
Corps, and also took part in the battle of 
Chattanooga. 

After the war he located at St. Louis, 
and in 1869 was elected United States sena- 
tor from Missouri. He supported Horace 
Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and in 
the campaign of 1876, having removed to 
New York, he supported Hayes and the Re- 
publican ticket, and was appointed secre- 



tary of the interior in 1877. In 1881 he 
became editor of the "New York Evening 
Post," and in 1884 was prominent in his 
opposition to James G. Blaine, and became 
a leader of the "Mugwumps," thus assist- 
ing in the election of Cleveland. In the 
presidential campaign of 1896 his forcible 
speeches in the interest of sound money 
wielded an immense influence. Mr. Schurz 
wrote a " Life of Henry Clay," said to be 
the best biography ever published of that 
eminent statesman. 



GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, an American 
statesman of national reputation, was 
born in Richmond, Vermont, February i, 
1828. His education was obtained in the 
public schools and from the instructions of 
a private tutor. He was admitted to the 
bar, practiced law, and served in the state 
legislature from 1854 to 1859, during three 
years of that time being speaker of the lower 
house. He was elected to the state senate 
and acted as president pro tempore of that 
body in i86i and 1862. He became promi- 
nent for his activity in the impeachment 
proceedings against President Johnson, and 
was appointed to the United States senate 
to fill out the unexpired term of Solomon 
Foot, entering that body in 1866. He was 
re-elected to the senate four times, and 
served on the electoral commission in 1877. 
He became president pro tempore of the 
senate after the death of President Garfield, 
and was the author of the bill which put an 
end to the practice of polygamy in the ter- 
ritory of Utah. In November, 1891, owing 
to impaired health, he retired from the sen- 
ate and again resumed the practice of law. 



LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR, a prominent 
political leader, statesman and jurist, 
was born in Putnam county, Georgia, Sep- 



■202 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



tember 17, 1S25. He graduated from Emory 
College in 1845, studied law at Macon under 
Hon. A. H. Chappell, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1847. He moved to Oxford, 
Mississippi, in 1849, and was elected to a 
professorship in the State University. He 
resigned the next year and returned to Cov- 
ington, Georgia, and resumed the practice 
of law. In 1853 he was elected to the 
Georgia Legislature, and in 1854 he removed 
to his plantation in Lafayette county, Mis- 
sissippi, and was elected to represent his 
district in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth 
congresses. He resigned in i860, and was 
sent as a delegate to the secession conven- 
tion of the state. He entered the Confed- 
erate service in 1861 as lieutenant-colonel 
of the Nineteenth Regiment, and was soon 
after made colonel. In 1863 President 
Davis appointed him to an important diplo- 
matic mission to Russia. In 1866 he was 
elected professor of political economy and 
social science in the State University, and 
was soon afterward transferred to the pro- 
fessorship of the law department. He rep- 
resented his district in the forty-third and 
forty-fourth congresses, and was elected 
United States senator from Mississippi in 
1877, and re-elected in 1882. In 1885, be- 
fore the expiration of his term, he was 
appointed by President Cleveland as secre- 
tary of the interior, which position he held 
until his appointment as associate justice of 
the United States supreme court, in 1888, 
in which capacity he served until his death, 
January 23, 1894. 



BENJAMIN PENHALLOW SHILLA- 
BER won fame in the world of 
humorists under the name of "Mrs. Parting- 
ton." He was born in 1841 at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and started out in life as a 
printer. Mr. Shillaber went to Dover, 



where he secured employment in a printing 
office, and from there he went to Demerara, 
Guiana, where he was employed as a com- 
positor in 1835-37. In 1840 he became 
connected with the "Boston Post," and 
acquired quite a reputation as a humorist 
by his "Sayings of Mrs. Partington." He 
remained as editor of the paper until 1850, 
when he printed and edited a paper of his 
own called the "Pathfinder," which he con- 
tinued until 1852. Mr. Shillaber be- 
came editor and proprietor of the "Carpet 
Bag," which he conducted during 1850-52, 
and then returned to the "Boston Post," 
with which he was connected until 1856. 
During the same time he was one of the 
editors of the "Saturday Evening Gazette," 
and continued in this line after he severed 
his connection with the "Post," for ten 
years. After 1866 Mr. Shillaber wrote for 
various newspapers and periodicals, and 
during his life published the following 
books: "Rhymes with Reason and Without," 
"Poems," "Life and Sayings of Mrs. Part- 
ington," "Knitting Work," and others. 
His death occurred at Chelsea, Massachu- 
setts, November 25, 1890. 



EASTMAN JOHNSON stands first among 
painters of American country life. He 
was born in Lovell, Maine, in 1824, and be- 
gan his work in drawing at the age of eight- 
een years. His first works were portraits, 
and, as he took up his residence in Wash- 
ington, the most famous men of the nation 
were his subjects. In 1846 he went to Bos- 
ton, and there made crayon portraits of 
Longfellow, Emerson, Sumner, Hawthorne 
and other noted men. In 1849 he went to 
Europe. He studied at Dusseldorf, Ger- 
many; spent a year at the Royal Academy, 
and thence to The Hague, where he spent 
four years, producing there his first pictures. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



203 



of consequence, "The Card-Players " and 
"The Savoyard." He then went to Paris, 
but was called home, after an absence from 
America of six years. He lived some time 
in Washington, and then spent two years 
among the Indians of Lake Superior. In 
1858 he produced his famous picture, "The 
Old Kentucky Home." He took up his 
permanent residence at New York at that 
time. His " Sunday Morning in Virginia " 
is a work of equal merit. He was espe- 
cially successful in coloring, a master of 
drawing, and the expression conveys with 
precision the thought of the artist. His 
portrayal of family life and child life is un- 
equalled. Among his other great works are 
"The Confab," "Crossing a Stream,' 
"Chimney Sweep," "Old Stage Coach," 
" The New Bonnet," " The Drummer Boy," 
"Childhood of Lincoln," and a great vari- 
ety of equally familiar subjects. 



PIERCE GUSTAVE TOUTANT BEAU- 
REGARD, one of the most distin- 
guished generals in the Confederate army, 
was born near New Orleans, Louisiana, 
May 28, 181 8. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1838, and v/as 
made second lieutenant of engineers. He 
was with General Scott in Mexico, and dis- 
tinguished himself at Vera Cruz, Cerro 
Gordo, and the battles near the City of 
Mexico, for which he was twice brevetted. 
After the Mexican war closed he was placed 
in charge of defenses about New Orleans, 
and in i860 was appointed superintendent 
of the United States Military Academy at 
West Point. He held this position but a 
few months, when he resigned February 20, 
1 86 1, and accepted a commission of briga- 
dier-general in the Confederate army. He 
directed the attack on Fort Sumter, the 

first engagement of the Civil war. He was 
12 



in command of the Confederates at the first 
battle of Bull Run, and for this victory was 
made general. In 1862 he was placed in 
command of the Army of the Mississippi, 
and planned the attack upon General Grant 
at Shiloh, and upon the death of General 
Johnston he took command of the army 
and was only defeated by the timely arrival 
of General Buell with reinforcements. He 
commanded at Charleston and successfully 
defended that city against the combined at- 
tack by land and sea in 1863. In 1864 he 
was in command in Virginia, defeating Gen- 
eral Butler, and resisting Grant's attack 
upon Petersburg until reinforced from Rich- 
mond. During the long siege which fol- 
lowed he was sent to check General Sher- 
man's march to the sea, and was with Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston when that general 
surrendered in 1865. After the close of the 
war he was largely interested in railroad 
management. In 1 866 he was offered chief 
command of the Army of Roumania, and in 
1869, that of the Army of Egypt. He de- 
clined these offers. His death occurred 
February 20, 1893. 



HENRY GEORGE, one of America's 
most celebrated political economists, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
September 2, 1839. He received a common- 
school education and entered the high 
school in 1853, and then went into a mer- 
cantile office. He made several voyages on 
the sea, and settled in California in 1858. 
He then worked at the printer's trade for a 
number of years, which he left to follow the 
editorial profession. He edited in succession 
several daily newspapers, and attracted at- 
tention by a number of strong essays and 
speeches on political and social questions. 
In 1 87 1 he edited a pamphlet, entitled ' ' Oui 
Land and Policy," in which he outlined 9 



204 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



theory, which has since made him so widely 
known. This was developed in " Progress 
and Poverty," a book which soon attained a 
large circulation on both sides of the Atlan- 
tic, which has been extensively translated. 
In iS8o Mr. George located in New York, 
where he made his home, though he fre- 
quently addressed audiences in Great Britain, 
Ireland, Australia, and throughout the 
United States. In 1886 he was nominated 
by the labor organizations for mayor of New 
York, and made a campaign notable for its 
development of unexpected power. In 1887 he 
was candidate of the Union Labor party for 
secretary of state of New York. These cam- 
paigns served to formulate the idea of a. single 
tax and popularize the Australian ballot sys- 
tem. Mr. George became a free trader in 
1888, and in 1892 supported the election of 
Grover Cleveland. His political and eco- 
nomic ideas, known as the "single tax," 
have a large and growing support, but are 
not confined to this country alone. He 
wrote numerous miscellaneous articles in 
support of his principles, and also published: 
"The Land Question," " Social Problems," 
"Protection or Free Trade," "The Condi- 
tion of Labor, an Open Letter to Pope Leo 
XIII.," and " Perplexed Philosopher." 



THOMAS ALEXANDER SCOTT. —This 
name is indissolubly connected with 
the history and development of the railway 
systems of the United States. Mr. Scott 
was born December 28, 1823, at London, 
Franklin county, Pennsjdvania. He was first 
regularly employed by Major James Patton, 
the collector of tolls on the state road be- 
tween Philadelphia and Columbia, Penn- 
sylvania. He entered into the employ of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1850,- 
and went through all the different branches 
of work until he had mastered all the details 



of the office work, and in 1858 he was ap- 
pointed general superintendent. Mr. Scott 
was the next year chosen vice-president of 
the road. This position at once brought 
him before the public, and the enterprise 
and ability displayed by him in its manage- 
ment marked him as a leader among the 
railroad men of the country. At the out- 
break of the rebellion in 1861, Mr. Scott 
was selected by Governor Curtin as a mem- 
ber of his staff, and placed in charge of the 
equipment and forwarding of the state troops 
to the seat of war. On April 27, 1861, the 
secretary of war desired to establish a new 
line of road between the. national capital 
and Philadelphia, for the more expeditious 
transportation of troops. He called upon 
Mr. Scott to direct this work, and the road 
by the way of Annapolis and Perryville was 
completed in a marvelously siiort space of 
time. On May 3, 1861, he was commis- 
sioned colonel of volunteers, and on the 23d 
of the same month the government railroads 
and telegraph lines were placed in his charge. 
Mr. Scott was the first assistant secretary 
of war ever appointed, and he took charge 
of this new post August i, 1861. In Janu- 
ary, 1862, he was directed to organize: 
transportation in the northwest, and in' 
March he performed the same ser\'ice on 
the western rivers. He resigned June i, 
1862, and resumed his direction of afiairs on 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Colonel Scott ■ 
directed the policy that secured to his road 
the control of the western roads, and be- 
came the president of the new company to 
operate these lines in 1871. For one year, 
from March, 1871, he was president of the 
Union Pacific Railroad, and in 1874 he suc- 
ceeded to the presidency of the Pennsyl- 
vania Company. He projected the Texas 
Pacific Railroad and was for many years its 
president. Colonel Scott's health failed 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



205 



him and he resigned the presidency of the 
road June i, iSSo, and died at his home in 
Darby, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1881. 



ROBERT TOOMBS, an American states- 
man of note, was born in Wilkes coun- 
ty, Georgia, Julj' 2, iSio. He attended 
the University of Georgia, and graduated 
from Union College, Schenectady, New 
York, and then took a law course at the 
University of \'irginia. In 1830, before he 
had attained his majority, he was admitted 
to the bar by special act of the legislature, 
and rose rapidly in his profession, attracting 
the attention of the leading statesmen and 
judges of that time. He raised a volunteer 
company for the Creek war, and served as 
captain to the close. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1837, re-elected in 1842, 
and in 1844 was elected to congress. He 
had been brought up as a JefTersonian 
Democrat, but voted for Harrison in 1840 
and for Clay in 1844. He made his first 
speech in congress on the Oregon question, 
and immediately took rank with the greatest 
debaters of that body. In 1853 he was 
elected to the United States senate, and 
again in 1859, but when his native state 
seceded he resigned his seat in the senate 
and was elected to the Confederate con- 
gress. It is stated on the best authority 
that had it not been for a misunderstanding 
which could not be explained till too late he 
would ha\e been elected president of the 
Confederacy. He was appointed secretary 
of state by President Davis, but resigned 
after a few months and was commissioned 
brigadier-general in the Confederate army. 
He won distinction at the second battle of 
Bull Run and at Sharpsburg, but resigned 
his commission soon after and returned to 
Georgia. He organized the militia of 
Georgia to resist Sherman, and was made 



, brigadier-general of the state troops. He 
left the country at the close of the war and 
did not return until 1867. He died Decem- 
ber 15, 1885. 

AUSTIN CORBIN, one of the greatest 
railway magnates of the United States, 
was born July 11, 1S27, at Newport, New 
Hampshire. He studied law with Chief 
Justice Gushing and Governor Ralph Met- 
calf, and later took a course in the Harvard 
Law School, where he graduated in 1849. 
He was admitted to the bar, and practiced 
law, with Governor Metcalf as his partner, 
until October 12, 1851. Mr. Corbin then 
removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he re- 
mained until 1865. In 1854 he was a part- 
ner in the banking firm of Macklot & Cor- 
bin, and later he organized the First Na- 
tional bank of Davenport, Iowa, which 
commenced business June 29, 1863, and 
which was the first national bank open for 
business in the United States. Mr. Corbin 
sold out his business in the Davenport bank, 
and removed to New York in 1865 and com- 
menced business with partners under the 
style of Corbin Banking Compan\-. Soon 
after his removal to New York he became 
interested in railroads, and became one of 
the leading railroad men of the country. 
The development of the west half of Coney 
Island as a summer resort first brought him 
into general prominence. He built a rail- 
road from New York to the island, and 
built great hotels on its ocean front. He 
next turned his attention to Long Island, 
and secured all the railroads and consoli- 
dated them under one management, became 
president of the system, and under his con- 
trol Long Island became the great ocean 
suburb of New York. His latest public 
achievement was the rehabilitation of the 
Reading Railroad, of Pennsylvania, and 



206 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



during the same time he and his friends 
purchased the controlHng interest of the 
New Jersey Central Railroad. He took it 
out of the hands of the receiver, and in 
three years had it on a dividend-paying 
basis. Mr. Corbin's death occurred June 
4, 1896. 

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Sr., 
was one of the greatest journalistg of 
America in his day. He was born Septem- 
ber I, 1795, at New Mill, near Keith, Scot- 
land. At the age of fourteen he was sent 
to Aberdeen to study for the priesthood, 
but, convinced that he was mistaken in his 
vocation, he determined to emigrate. He 
landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 18 19, 
where he attempted to earn a living by 
teaching bookkeeping. Failing in this he 
went to Boston and found employment as a 
proof reader. Mr. Bennett went to New 
York.about 1822 and wrote for the news- 
papers. Later on he became assistant 
editor in the office of the "Charleston 
Courier, "but returned to New York in 1824 
and endeavored to start a commercial 
school, but was unsuccessful in this, and 
again returned to newspaper work. He 
continued in newspaper work with varying 
success until, at his suggestion, the "En- 
quirer" was consolidated with another 
paper, and became the "Courier and En- 
quirer," with James Watson Webb as 
editor and Mr. Bennett for assistant. At 
this time this was the leading American 
newspaper. He, however, severed his con- 
nection with this newspaper and tried, 
without success, other ventures in the line 
of journalism until May 6, 1835, when he 
issued the first number of the "New York 
Herald." Mr. Bennett wrote the entire 
paper, and made up for lack of news by his 
own imagination. The paper became popu- 



lar, and in 1838 he engaged European jour- 
nalists as regular correspondents. In 1841 
the income derived from his paper was at 
least one hundred thousand dollars. Dur- 
ing the Civil war the " Herald " had on its 
staff sixty-three war correspondents and the 
circulation was doubled. Mr. Bennett was 
interested with John W. Mackay in that great 
enterprise which is now known as the Mac- 
kay-Bennett Cable. He had collected for use 
in his paper over fifty thousand biographies, 
sketches and all manner of information re- 
garding every well-known man, which are 
still kept in the archives of the "Herald" 
office. He died in the city of New York in 
1872, and left to his son, James Gordon, 
Jr., one of the greatest and most profitable 
journals in the United States, or even in the 
world. 

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, a 
noted American, won distinction in the 
field of literature, in which he attained a 
world-wide reputation. He was born at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 29, 1809. 
He received a collegiate education and grad- 
uated from Harvard in 1829, at the age of 
twenty, and took up the study of law and 
later studied medicine. Dr. Holmes at- 
tended several years in the hospitals of 
Europe and received his degree in 1836. 
He became professor of anatomy and phys- 
iology in Dartmouth in 1838, and re- 
mained there until 1847, when he was 
called to the Massachusetts Medical School 
at Boston to occupy the same chair, which 
position he resigned in 1882. The first 
collected edition of his poems appeared in 
1836, and his "Phi Beta Kappa Poems," 
"Poetry," in 1836; "Terpsichore," in 1843; 
"Urania," in 1846, and "Astraea," won for 
him many fresh laurels. His series of 
papers in the "Atlantic Monthly," were: 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



207 



"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," "Pro- 
fessor at the Breakfast Table," "Poet at 
the Breakfast Table," and are a series of 
masterly wit, humor and pathos. Among 
his medical papers and addresses, are : ' 'Cur- 
rents and Counter-currents in the Medical 
Science," and ^'Borderland in Some Prov- 
inces of Medical Science." Mr. Holmes 
edited quite a number of works, of which 
we quote the following: "Else Venner, " 
"Songs in Many Keys," "Soundings from 
the Atlantic," "Humorous Poems," "The 
Guardian Angel," "Mechanism in Thoughts 
and Morals," "Songs of Many Seasons," 
"John L. Motley" — a memoir, "The Iron 
Gate and Other Poems," "Ralph Waldo 
Emerson," "A Moral Antipathy." Dr. 
Holmes visited England for the second time, 
and while there the degree of LL. D. 
was conferred upon him by the University 
of Edinburgh. His death occurred October 
7. 1894- 

RUFUS CHOATE, one of the most em- 
inent of America's great lawyers, was 
born October i, 1799, at Essex, Massachu- 
setts. He entered Dartmouth in 181 5, 
and after taking his degree he remained as 
a teacher in the college for one year. He 
took up the study of law in Cambridge, and 
subsequently studied under the distinguished 
lawyer, Mr. Wirt, who was then United 
States attorney-general at Washington. Mr. 
Choatebegan the practice of law in Danvers, 
Massachusetts, and from there he went to 
Salem, and afterwards to Boston, Massa- 
chusetts. While living at Salem he was 
elected to congress in 1832, and later, in 
[841, he was chosen United States senator 
to succeed Daniel Webster, Mr. Webster 
having been appointed secretary of state 
under William Henry Harrison. 

After the death of Webster, Mr Choate 



was the acknowledged leader of the Massa- 
chusetts bar, and was looked upon by the 
younger members of the profession with an 
affection that almost amounted to a rever- 
ence. Mr. Choate's powers as an orator 
were of the rarest order, and his genius 
made it possible for him to enchant and in- 
terest his listeners, even while discussing the 
most ordinary theme. He was not merely 
eloquent on the subjects that were calculated 
to touch the feelings and stir the passions 
of his audience in themselves, but could at 
all times command their attention. He re- 
tired from active life in 1858, and was on 
his way to Europe, his physician having 
ordered a sea voyage for his health, but had 
only reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, when 
he died, July 13, 1858. 



D WIGHT L. MOODY, one of the most 
noted and effective pulpit orators and 
evangelists America has produced, was born 
in Northfield, Franklin county, Massachu- 
setts, February 5, 1837. He received but 
a meager education and worked on a farm 
until seventeen years of age, when he be- 
came clerk in a boot and shoe store in 
Boston. Soon after this he joined the Con- 
gregational church and went to Chicago, 
where he zealously engaged in missionary 
work among the poor classes. He met 
with great success, and in less than a year 
he built up a Sunday-school which numbered 
over one thousand children. When the 
war broke out he became connected with 
what was known as the "Christian Com- 
mission," and later became city missionary 
of the Young Men's Christian Association at 
Chicago. A church was built there for his 
converts and he became its unordained pas- 
tor. In the Chicago fire of 1871 the church 
and Mr. Moody's house and furniture, which 
had been given him, were destroyed. The 



208 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



church edifice was afterward replaced by a 
new church erected on the site of the old 
one. In 1873, accompanied by Ira D. 
Sankey, Mr. Moody went to Europe and 
excited great rehgious awakenings through- 
out England, Ireland and Scotland. In 
1875 they returned to America and held 
large meetings in various cities. They 
afterward made another visit to Great 
Britain for the same purpose, meeting with 
great success, returning to the United States 
in 1S84. Mr. Moody afterward continued 
his evangelistic work, meeting everywhere 
with a warm reception and success. Mr. 
Moody produced a number of works, some 
of which had a wide circulation. 



JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN, a financier 
of world-wide reputation, and famous 
as the head of one of the largest banking 
houses in the world, was born April 17, 
1837, at Hartford, Connecticut. He re- 
ceived his early education in the English" 
high school, in Boston, and later supple- 
mented this with a course in the University 
of Gottingen, Germany. He returned to 
the United States, in 1857, and entered the 
banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co., 
of New York, and, in i860, he became 
agent and attorney, in the United States, for 
George Peabody & Co., of London. He 
became the junior partner in the banking 
firm of Dabney, Morgan & Co., in 1864, 
and that of Drexel, Morgan & Co., in 1871. 
This house was among the chief negotiators 
of railroad bonds, and was active in the re- 
organization of the West Shore Railroad, 
and its absorption by the New York Central 
Railroad. It was conspicuous in the re- 
organization of the Philadelphia & Read- 
ing Railroad, in 1887, which a sj'udicate of 
capitalists, formed by Mr. Morgan, placed 
on a sound financial basis. After that time 



many other lines of railroad and gigantic 
financial enterprises were brought under Mr. 
Morgan's control, and in some respects it 
may be said he became the foremost financier 
of the centurv. 



THOMAS BRACKETT REED, one of 
the most eminent of American states- 
men, was born October 18, 1839, at Port- 
land, Maine, where he received his early 
education in the common schools of the 
city, and prepared himself for college. Mr. 
Reed graduated from Bowdoin College in 
i860, and won one of the highest honors of 
the college, the prize for excellence in Eng- 
lish composition. The following four years 
were spent by him in teaching and in the 
study of law. Before his admission to the 
bar, however, he was acting assistant pay- 
master in the United States navy, and 
served on the "tin-clad" Sybil, which pa- 
trolled the Tennessee, Cumberland and 
Mississippi rivers. After his discharge in 
1865, he returned to Portland, was admit- 
ted to the bar, and began the practice of his 
profession. He entered into political life, 
and in 1 868 was elected to the legislature 
of Maine as a Republican, and in 1869 he 
was re-elected to the house, and in 1870 
was made state senator, from which he 
passed to attorney-general of the state. 
He retired from this office in 1873, and 
until 1877 he was solicitor for the city 
of Portland. In 1876 he was elected to 
the forty-fifth congress, which assembled 
in 1877. Mr. Reed sprung into prominence 
in that body by one of the first speeches 
which he delivered, and his long service in 
congress, coupled with his ability, gave him 
a national reputation. His influence each 
year became more strongly marked, and the 
leadership of his party was finally conceded 
to him, and in the forty-ninth and fiftieth 



I 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



209 



congresses the complimentary nomination 
for the speakership was tendered him by the 
RepubHcans. That party having obtained 
the ascendency in the fifty-first congress he 
was elected speaker on the first ballot, and 
he was again chosen speaker of the fifty- 
fourth and fifth-fifth congresses. As a 
writer, Mr. Reed contributed largely to the 
maga^ines and periodicals, and his book 
upon parliamentary rules is generally rec- 
ognized as authority on that subject. 



CLARA BARTON is a celebrated char- 
acter among what might be termed as 
the highest grade of philanthropists Amer- 
ica has produced. She was born on a farm 
at 0.xford, Massachusetts, a daughter of 
Captain Stephen Barton, and was educated 
at Clinton, New York. She engaged in 
teaching early in life, and founded a free 
school at Bordentown, the first in New Jer- 
sey. She opened with six pupils, but the 
attendance had grown to si.x hundred up to 
1854, when she went to Washington. She 
was appointed clerk in the patent depart- 
ment, and remained there until the out- 
break of the Civil war, when she resigned 
her position and devoted herself to the al- 
leviation of the sufferings of the soldiers, 
serving, not in the hospitals, but on the bat- 
tle field. She was present at a number of 
battles, and after the war closed she origi- 
nated, and for some time carried on at her 
own expense, the search for missing soldiers. 
She then for several years devoted her time 
to lecturing on "Incidents of the War." 
About 1868 she went to Europe for her 
health, and settled in Switzerland, but on the 
outbreak of the Franco-German war she ac- 
cepted the invitation of the grand duchess 
of Baden to aid in the establishment of her 
liospitals, and Miss Barton afterward fol- 
lowed the German army She was deco- 



rated with the golden cross by the grand 
duke of Baden, and with the iron cross by 
the emperor of Germany. She also served 
for many years as president of the famous 
Red Cross Society and attamed a world- 
wide reputation. 



CARDINAL JAMES GIBBONS, one of 
the most eminent Catholic clergymen 
in America, was born in Baltimore, Mary- 
land, July 23, 1834. He was given a 
thorough education, graduated at St. Charles 
College, Maryland, in 1857, and studied 
theology in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, 
Maryland. In 1861 he became pastor of 
St. Bridget's church in Baltimore, and in 
1868 was consecrated vicar apostolic of 
North Carolina. In 1872 our subject be- 
came bishop of Richmond, Virginia, and 
five years later was made archbishop c: Bal- 
timore. On the 30th of June, 1880, he 
was admitted to the full degree of cardinal 
and primate of the American Catholic 
church. He was a fluent writer, and his 
book, "Faith of Our Fathers,' had a wide 
circulation. 

CHAUNCEY MITCHELL DEPEW.— 
This name is, without doubt, one of 
the most widely known in the United States. 
Mr. Depew was born April 23, 1834, at 
Peekskill, New York, the home of the Depew 
family for two hundred years. He attended 
the common schools of his native place, 
where he prepared himself to enter college. 
He began his collegiate course at Yale at 
the age of eighteen and graduated in 1856. 
He early took an active interest in politics 
and joined the Republican party at its for- 
mation. He then took up the study of law 
and went into the office of ttic Hon. Will- 
iam Nelson, of Peekskill, for that purpose, 
and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar. 



210 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



He was sent as a delegate by the new party 
to the Repubhcan state convention of that 
year. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion in 1859, but though he was a good 
worker, his attention was detracted by tho 
campaign of i860, in which he took an act- 
ive part. During this campaign he gained 
his first laurels as a public speaker. Mr. 
Depew was elected assemblyman in 1862 
from a Democratic district. In 1863 he se- 
cured the nomination for secretary of state, 
and gained that post by a majority of thirty 
thousand. In 1866 he left the field of pol- 
itics and entered into the active practice 
of his law business as attorney for the 
New York & Harlem Railroad Company, 
and in 1869 when this road was consoli- 
dated with the New York Central, and 
called the New York Central & Hudson 
riiver Railroad, he was appointed the attor- 
ney for the new road. His rise in the rail- 
road business was rapid, and ten years after 
his entrance into the Vanderbilt system as 
attorney for a single line, he was the gen- 
eral counsel for one of the largest railroad 
systems in the world. He was also a 
director in the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern, Michigan Central, Chicago & 
Northwestern, St. Paul & Omaha, West 
Shore, and Nickel Plate railroad companies. 
In 1874 Mr. Depew was made regent of 
the State University, and a member of the 
commission appointed to superintend the 
erection of the capitol at Albany. In 1882, 
on the resignation of W. H. Vanderbilt 
from the presidency of the New York Cen- 
tral and the accession to that office by 
lames H. Rutter, Mr. Depew was made 
second vice-president, and held that posi- 
tion until the death of Mr. Rutter in 1885. 
In this year Mr. Depew became the e.xecu- 
tive head of this great corporation. Mr. 
Depew's greatest fame grew from his ability 



and eloquence as an orator and " after-din- 
ner speaker," and it has been said by emi- 
nent critics that this country has never pro- 
duced his equal in wit, fluency and eloquence. 



PHILIP KEARNEY.— Among the most 
dashing and brilliant commanders in 
the United States service, few have outshone 
the talented officer whose name heads this 
sketch. He was born in New York City, 
June 2, 181S, and was of Irish ancestry and 
imbued with all the dash and bravery of the 
Celtic race. He graduated from Columbia 
College and studied law, but in 1837 ac- 
cepted a commission as lieutenant in the 
First United States Dragoons, of which his 
uncle, Stephen W. Kearney, was then colo- 
nel. He was sent by the government, 
soon after, to Europe to examine and report 
upon the tactics of the French cavalry. 
There he attended the Polytechnic School, 
at Samur, and subsequently served as a vol- 
unteer in Algiers, winning the cross of the 
Legion of Honor. He returned to the 
United States in 1840, and on the staff of 
General Scott, in the Me.xican war, served 
with great gallantry. He was made a cap- 
tain of dragoons in 1846 and made major 
for services at Contreras and Cherubusco. 
In the final assault on the City of Mexico, 
at the San Antonio Gate, Kearney lost an 
arm. He subsequently served in California 
and the Pacific coast. In 185 i he resigned 
his commission and went to Europe, where 
he resumed his military studies. In the 
Italian war, in 1859, he served as a volun- 
teer on the staff of General Maurier, of the 
French army, and took part in the battles 
of Solferino and Magenta, and for bravery 
was, for the second time, decorated with 
the cross of the Legion of Honor. On the 
opening of the Civil war he hastened home, 
and, offering his services to the general gov- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHr. 



211 



ernment, was made brigadier-general of 
volunteers and placed in command of a bri- 
gade of New Jersey troops. In the cam- 
paign under McClellan he commanded a di- 
vision, and at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks 
his services were valuable and brilliant, as 
well as in subsequent engagements. At 
Harrison's Landing he was made major-gen- 
eral of volunteers. In the second battle of 
Bull Run he was conspicuous, and at the 
battle of Chantilly, September i, 1862, 
while leading in advance of his troops, Gen- 
eral Kearney was shot and killed. 



RUSSELL SAGE, one of the financial 
giants of the present century and for 
more than an average generation one of the 
most conspicuous and celebrated of Ameri- 
cans, was born in a frontier hamlet in cen- 
tral New York in August, 1816. While Rus- 
sell was still a boy an elder brother, Henry 
Risley Sage, established a small grocery 
store at Troy, New York, and here Russell 
found his first employment, as errand boy. 
He served a five-years apprenticeship, and 
then joined another brother, Elisha M. Sage, 
in a new venture in the sam.e line, which 
proved profitable, at least for Russell, who 
soon became its sole owner. Next he 
formed the partnership of Sage & Bates, 
and greatly extended his field of operations. 
At twenty-five he had, by his own exertions, 
amassed what was, in those days, a consid- 
erable fortune, being worth about seventy- 
five thousand dollars. He had acquired an 
influence in local politics, and four years 
later his party, the Whigs, elected him to 
the aldermanic board of Troy and to the 
treasuryship of Rensselaer county. In 1848 
he was a prominent member of the New 
York delegation to the Whig convention at 
Philadelphia, casting his first votes for Henry 
Clay, but joining the "stampede" which 



nominated Zachary Taylor. In 1850 the 
Whigs of Troy nominated him for congress, 
but he was not elected — a failure which he 
retrieved two years later, and in 1854 he 
was re-elected by a sweeping majority. At 
Washington he ranked high in influence and 
ability. Fame as a speaker and as a polit- 
ical leader was within his grasp, when he 
gave up public life, declined a renomination 
to congress, and went back to Troy to de- 
vote himself to his private business. Six 
years later, in 1863, he removed to New 
York and plunged into the arena of Wall 
street. A man of boundless energy and 
tireless pertinacity, with wonderful judg- 
ment of men and things, he soon took his 
place as a king in finance, and, it is said, 
during the latter part of his life he con- 
trolled more ready money than any other 
single individual on this continent. 



ROGER QUARLES MILLS, a noted 
United States senator and famous as the 
father of the "Mills tariff bill, "was born 
in Todd county, Kentucky, March 30, 1832. 
He received a liberal education in the com- 
mon schools, and removed to Palestine, 
Texas, in 1849. He took up the study of 
law, and supported himself by serving as an 
assistant in the post-office, and in the offices 
of the court clerks. In 1850 he was elected 
engrossing clerk of the Texas house of rep- 
resentatives, and in 1852 was admitted to 
the bar, while still a minor, by special act 
of the legislature. He then settled at Cor- 
sicana, Texas, and began the active prac- 
tice of his profession. He was elected to 
the state legislature in 1859, and in 1872 he 
was elected to congress from the state at 
large, as a Democrat. After his first elec- 
tion he was continuously returned to con- 
gress until he resigned to accept the posi- 
tion of United States senator, to which he 



212 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



%v;.s elected March 23, 1892, to succeed 
Hon. Hoi ace Chilton. He took his seat in 
the senate March 30, 1892; was afterward 
re-elected and ranked among the most use- 
ful and prominent members of that body. 
In 1876 he opposed the creation of the elec- 
toral commission, and in 1887 canvassed 
the state of Texas against the adoption of 
a prohibition amendment to its constitution, 
which was defeated. He introduced into 
the house of representatives the bill that was 
known as the "Mills Bill," reducing duties 
on imports, and extending the free list. 
The bill passed the house on July 21, 1888, 
and made the name of "Mills" famous 
throughout the entire country. 



HAZEN S. PINGREE, the celebrated 
Michigan political leader, was born in 
Maine in 1842. Up to fourteen years of 
age he worked hard on the stony ground of 
his father's small farm. Attending school 
in the winter, he gained a fair education, 
and when not laboring on the farm, he 
found employment in the cotton mills in the 
vicinity. He resolved to find more steady 
work, and accordingly went to Hopkinton, 
Massachusetts, where he entered a shoe fac- 
tory, but on the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed at once and was enrolled in the First 
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He partici- 
pated in the battle of Bull Run, which was 
his initial fight, and served creditably his 
early term of service, at the expiration of 
which he re-enlisted. He fought in the 
battles of Fredricksburg, Harris Farm, 
Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Har- 
bor In 1864 he was captured by Mosby, 
and spent five months at Andersonville, 
Georgia, as a prisoner, but escaped at the 
end of that time. He re-entered the service 
and participated in the battles of Fort 
Fisher, Boyden, and Sailor's Creek. He 



was honorably mustered out of service, and 
in 1866 went to Detroit, Michigan, where 
he made use of his former experience in a 
shoe factory, and found work. Later he 
formed a partnership with another workman 
and started a small factory, which has since 
become a large establishment. Mr. Pin- 
gree made his entrance into politics in 1889, 
in which year he was elected by a surpris- 
ingly large majority as a Republican to the 
mayoralty of Detroit, in which office he was 
the incumbent during four consecutive terms. 
In November, 1896, he was elected gov- 
ernor of the state of Michigan. While 
mayor of Detroit, Mr. Pingree originated 
and put into execution the idea of allowing 
the poor people of the city the use of va- 
cant city lands and lots for the purpose of 
raising potatoes. The idea was enthusiast- 
ically adopted by thousands of poor families, 
attracted wide attention, and gave its author 
a national reputation as "Potato-patch Pin- 
gree." 

THOMAS ANDREW HENDRICKS, an 
eminent American statesman and a 
Democratic politician of national fame, was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, Septem- 
ber 7, 1 8 19. In 1822 he removed, with his 
father, to Shelby county, Indiana. He 
graduated from the South Hanover College 
in 1 841, and two years later was admitted 
to the bar. In 1851 he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the state constitutional convention, 
and took a leading part in the deliberations 
of that body. He was elected to congress 
in 1851, and after serving two terms was 
appointed commissioner of the United States 
general land-office. In 1863 he was elected 
to the United States senate, where his dis- 
tinguished services commanded the respect 
of all parties. He was elected governor of 
Indiana in 1872, serving four years, and in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



213 



J 876 was nominated by the Democrats as 
candidate for the vice-presidency with Til- 
den. The returns in a number of states 
were contested, and resulted in the appoint- 
ment of the famous electoral commission, 
which decided in favor of the Republican 
candidates. In 1884 Mr. Hendricks was 
again nominated as candidate for the vice- 
presidency, by the Democratic party, on the 
ticket with Grover Cleveland, was elected, 
and served about six months. He died at 
Indianapolis, November 25, 1885. He was 
regarded as one of the brainiest men in the 
party, and his integrity was never ques- 
tioned, even by his political opponents. 



GARRETT A. HOBART, one of the 
many able men who have held the 
high office of vice-president of the United 
States, was born June 3, 1844, in Mon- 
mouth county. New Jersey, and in i860 en- 
tered the sophomore class at Rutgers Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1863 at 
the age of nineteen. He then taught 
school until he entered the law office of 
Socrates Tuttle, of Paterson, New Jersey, 
with whom he studied law. and in 1869 
was admitted to the bar. He immediately 
began the active practice of his profession 
ill the office of the above named gentleman. 
He became interested in political life, and 
espoused the cause of the Republican party, 
and in 1865 held his first office, serving as 
clerk for the grand jury. He was also city 
counsel of Paterson in 1871, and in May, 
1872, was elected counsel for the board of 
chosen freeholders. He entered the state 
legislature in 1873, and was re-elected to 
the assembly in 1874. Mr. Hobart was 
made speaker of the assembly in 1876, and 
and in 1879 was elected to the state senate. 
After serving three years in the same, he 
was elected president of that body in 1881, 



and the following* year was re-elected to 
that office. He was a delegate-at -large to 
the Republican national convention in 1876 
and 1880, and was elected a member of the 
national committee in 1884, which pos-tion 
he occupied continuously until 1896. He 
was then nominated for vice-president by 
the Republican national convention, anr* 
was elected to that office in the fall of 1896 
on the ticket with William McKinley. 



WILLIAM MORRIS STEWART, noted 
as a political leader and senator, was 
born in Lyons, Wayne county. New York, 
August 9, 1827, and removed with his par- 
ents while still a small child to Mesopota- 
mia township, Trumbull county, Ohio. He 
attended the Lyons Union school and Farm- 
ington Academy, where he obtained his ed- 
ucation. Later he taught mathematics in 
the former school, while yet a pupil, and 
with the little money thus earned and the 
assistance of James C. Smith, one of the 
judges of the supreme court of New York, 
he entered Yale College. He remained 
there until the winter of 1849-50, when, at- 
tracted by the gold discoveries in California 
he wended his way thither. He arrived at 
San Francisco in May, 1850, and later en- 
gaged in mining with pick and shovel in Ne- 
vada county. In this way he accumulated 
some money, and in the spring of 1852 he 
took up the study of law under John R. 
McConnell. The following December he 
was appointed district attorney, to which 
office he was chosen at the general election 
of the next year. In 1854 he was ap- 
pointed attorney-general of California, and 
in i860 he removed to Virginia City, Ne- 
vada, where he largely engaged in early 
mining litigation. Mr. Stewart was also in- 
terested in the development of the "Com- 
stock lode," and in 1861 was chosen a 



214 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



member of the territorial council. He was 
elected a member of the constitutional con- 
vention in 1S63, and was elected United 
States senator in 1864, and re-elected in 
1869. At the expiration of his term in 
1875, he resumed the practice of law in 
Nevada, California, and the Pacific coast 
generally. He was thus engaged when he 
was elected again to the United States sen- 
ate as a Republican in 1887 to succeed the 
late James G. Fair, a Democrat, and took 
his seat March 4, 1887. On the expiration 
of his term he was again re-elected and be- 
came one of the leaders of his party in con- 
gress. His ability as an orator, and the 
prominent part he took in the discussion of 
public questions, gained him a national rep- 
utation. 

GEORGE GRAHAM VEST, for many 
years a prominent member of the 
United States senate, was born in Frank- 
fort, Kentucky, December 6, 1848. He 
graduated from Center College in 1868, and 
from the law department of the Transyl- 
vania University of Lexington, Kentucky, 
in 1853. In the same year he removed to 
Missouri and began the practice of his pro- 
fession, In i860 he was an elector on the 
Democratic ticket, and was a member of 
the lower house of the Missouri legislature 
in 1860-61, He was elected to the Con- 
federate congress, serving two years in the 
lower house and one in the senate. He 
then resumed the practice of law, and in 
1879 was elected to the senate of the United 
States to succeed James Shields. He was 
re-elected in 1885, and again in 1891 and 
1897. His many years of service in the 
National congress, coupled with his ability 
as a speaker and the active part he took in 
the discussion of public questions, gave him 
a wide reputation. 



HANNIBAL HAMLIN, a noted American 
statesman, whose name is indissolubly 
connected with the history of this country, 
was born in Paris, Maine, August 27, 1809. 
He learned the printer's trade and followed 
that calling for several years. He then 
studied law, and was admitted to practice 
in 1833. He was elected to the legislature 
of the state of Maine, where he was several 
times chosen speaker of the lower house. 
He was elected to congress by the Demo- 
crats in 1843, and re-elected in 1845. I" 
1848 he was chosen to the United States 
senate and served in that body until 1861. 
He was elected governor of Maine in 1857 
on the Republican ticket, but resigned when 
re-elected to the United States senate 
the same year. He was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the United States on the ticket with 
Lincoln in i860, and inaugurated in March, 
1 861. In 1865 he was appointed collector 
of the port of Boston. Beginning with 
1869 he served two six-year terms in the 
United States senate, and was then ap- 
pointed by President Garfield as minister to 
Spain in 1881. His death occurred July 4, 
1891. 

TSHAM G. HARRIS, famous as Confed- 
1 erate war governor of Tennessee, and 
distinguished by his twenty years of service 
in the senate of the United States, was 
born in Franklin county, Tennessee, and 
educated at the Academy of Winchester. 
He then took up the study of law, was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and commenced practice 
at Paris, Tennessee, in 1841. He was 
elected to the state legislature in 1847, was 
a candidate for presidential elector on the 
Democratic ticket in 1848, and the next 
year was elected to congress from his dis- 
trict, and re elected in 185 1. In 1853 he 
was renominated by the Democrats of his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



215 



district, but declined, and removed to Mem- 
phis, where he took up the practice of law. 
He was a presidential elector-at-large irom 
Tennessee in 1856, and was elected gov- 
ernor of the state the next year, and again 
in 1859, and in 1861. He was driven from 
Nashville by the advance of the Union 
armies, and for the last three years of the 
war acted as aid upon the staff of the com- 
manding general of the Confederate army 
of Tennessee. After the war he went to 
Liverpool, England, where he became a 
merchant, but returned to Memphis in 1867, 
and resumed the practice of law. In 1877 
he was elected to the United States senate, 
to which position he was successively re- 
elected until his death in 1897. 



NELSON DINGLEY, Jr., for nearly a 
quarter of a century one of the leaders 
in congress and framer of the famous 
" Dingley tariff bill," was born in Durham, 
Maine, in 1832. His father as well as all 
his ancestors, were farmers, merchants and 
mechanics and of English descent. Young 
Dingley was given the advantages first of 
the common schools and in vacations helped 
his father in the store and on the farm. 
When twelve years of age he attended high 
school and at seventeen was teaching in a 
country school district and preparing him- 
self for college. The following year he en- 
tered Waterville Academy and in 185 i en- 
tered Colby University. After a year and a 
half in this institution he entered Dart- 
mouth College and was graduated in 1855 
with high rank as a scholar, debater and 
writer. He next studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1856. But instead of 
practicing his profession he purchased the 
" Lewistovvn (Me.) Journal," which be- 
came famous throughout the New England 
States as a leader in the advocacj'of Repub- 



lican principles. About the same time Mr. 
Dingley began his political career, although 
ever after continuing at the head of the 
newspaper. He was soon elected to the 
state legislature and afterward to the lower 
house of congress, where he became a 
prominent national character. He also 
served two terms as governor of Maine. 



OLIVER PERRY MORTON, a distin- 
guished American statesman, was born 
in Wayne county, Indiana, August 4, 1823. 
His early education was by private teaching 
and a course at the Wayne County Seminary. 
At the age of twenty years he entered the 
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and at 
the end of two years quit the college, began 
the study of law in the office of John New- 
man, of Centerville, Indiana, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1847. 

Mr. Morton was elected judge on the 
Democratic ticket, in 1852, but on thi 
passage of the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill " he 
severed his connection with that part)', and 
soon became a prominent leader of the Re- 
publicans. He was elected governor of In- 
diana in 1 86 1, and as war governor became 
well known throughout the country. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1865, which 
partially deprived him of the use of his 
limbs. He was chosen to the United States 
senate from Indiana, in 1867, and wielded 
great influence in that body until the time 
of his death, November i, 1877. 



JOHN B. GORDON, a brilliant Confeder- 
ateofiicer and noted senatoroftheUnited 
States, was born in Upson county, Georgia, 
February 6, 1832. He graduated from the 
State University, studied law, and took up 
the practice of his profession. At the be- 
ginning of the war he entered the Confederate 
service as captain of infantry, and rapidJy 



216 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



rose to the rank of lieutenant-general, 
commanding one wing of the Confederate 
army at the close of the war. In 1868 he 
was Democratic candidate for governor of 
Georgia, and it is said was elected by a large 
majority, but his opponent was given the 
office. He was a delegate to the national 
Democratic conventions in 1868 and 1872, 
and a presidential elector both years. In 
1873 he was elected to the United States 
senate. In 1886 he was elected governor 
of Georgia, and re-elected in 1888. He 
was again elected to the United States 
senate in 1890, serving until 1897, when he 
was succeeded by A. S. Clay. He was 
regarded as a leader of the southern Democ- 
racy, and noted for his fiery eloquence. 



STEPHEN JOHNSON FIELD, an illus- 
trious associate justice of the supreme 
court of the United States, was born at 
Haddam, Connecticut, November 4, 1S16, 
being one of the noted sons of Rev. D. 
D. Field. He graduated from Williams 
College in 1837. took up the study of law 
with his brother, David Dudley Field, be- 
coming his partner upon admission to the 
bar. He went to California in 1849, and at 
once began to take an active interest in the 
political affairs of that state. He was 
elected alcalde of Marysville, in 1850, and 
in the autumn of the same year was elected 
to the state legislature. In 1857 he was 
elected judge of the supreme court of the 
state, and two years afterwards became its 
chief justice. In 1863 he was appointed by 
President Lincoln as associate justice of the 
supreme court of the United States. During 
his incumbency, in 1873, he was appointed 
by the governor of California one of a com- 
mission to examine the codes of the state 
and for the preparation of amendments to 
the same for submission to the legislature. 



In 1877 he was one of the famous electoral 
commission of fifteen members, and voted 
as one of the seven favoring the election of 
Tilden to the presidency. In 1880 a large 
portion of the Democratic party favored his 
nomination as candidate for the presidency. 
He retired in the fall of 1897, having 
served a greater number of years on the 
supreme bench than any of his associates or 
predecessors. Chief Justice Marshall coming 
ne.xt in length of service. 



JOHN T. MORGAN, whose services in 
the United States senate brought him 
into national prominence, was born in 
Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. At the 
age of nine years he emigrated to Alabama, 
where he made his permanent home, and 
where he received an academic education. 
He then took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1845. He took a 
leading part in local politics, was a presi- 
dential elector in i860, casting his ballot 
for Breckenridge and Lane, and in 1861 
was a delegate to the state convention which 
passed the ordinance of secession. In May, 
of the same year, he joined the Confederate 
army as a private in Company I, Cahawba 
Rifles, and was soon after made major and 
then lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment. 
In 1862 he was commissioned colonel, and 
soon after made brigadier-general and as- 
signed to the command of a brigade in Vir- 
ginia. He resigned to join his old regiment 
whose colonel had been killed. He was 
soon afterward again made brigadier-gen- 
eral and given command of the brigade that 
included his regiment. 

After the war he returned to the prac- 
tice of law, and continued it up to the time 
of his election to the United States senate, ii7 
1877. He was a presidential elector in 187^ 
and cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



217 



He was re-elected to the senate in 1883, 
and again in 1889, and 1895. His speeches 
and the measures he introduced, marked 
as they were by an intense Americanism, 
brought him into national prommence. 



WILLIAM Mckinley, the twenty-fifth 
president of the United States, was 
born at Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan- 
uary 29, 1844. He was of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry, and received his early education 
in a Methodist academy in the small village 
of Poland, Ohio. At the outbreak of the 
war Mr. McKinley was teaching school, 
earning twenty-five dollars per month. As 
soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon he en- 
listed in a company that was formed in 
Poland, which was inspected and mustered 
in by General John C. Fremont, who at 
first objected to Mr. McKinley, as being too 
young, but upon examination he was finally 
accepted. Mr. McKinley was seventeen 
when the war broke out -but did not look his 
age. He served in the Twenty-third Ohio 
Infantry throughout the war, was promoted 
from sergeant to captain, for good conduct 
on the field, and at the close of the war, 
for meritorious services, he was brevetted 
major. After leaving the army Major Mc- 
Kinley took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1869 he took 
his initiation into politics, being elected pros- 
ecuting attorney of his county as a Republi- 
can, although the district was usually Demo- 
cratic. In 1 876 he was elected to congress, 
and in a call upon the President-elect, Mr. 
Hayes, to whom he went for advice upon the 
way he should shape his career, he was 
told that to achieve fame and success he 
must take one special line and stick to it. 
Mr. McKinley chose tariff legislation and 
he became an authority in regard to import 
duties. He was a member of congress for 



many years, became chairman of the ways 
and means committee, and later he advo- 
cated the famous tariff bill that bore his 
name, which was passed in 1890. In the 
next election the Republican party was 
overwhelmingly defeated through the coun- 
try, and the Democrats secured more than 
a two thirds majority in the lower house, 
and also had control of the senate, Mr. 
McKinley being defeated in his own district 
by a small majority. He was elected gov- 
ernor of Ohio in 1891 by a plurality of 
twenty-one thousand, five hundred and 
eleven, and two years later he was re-elected 
by the still greater plurality of eighty thou- 
sand, nine hundred and ninety-five. He was 
a delegate-at-large to the Minneapolis Re> 
publican convention in 1892, and was in- 
structed to support the nomination of Mr. 
Harrison. He was chairman of the con-, 
vention, and was the only man from Ohio 
to vote for Mr. Harrison upon the roll call. 
In November, 1892, a number of prominent 
politicians gathered in New York to discuss 
the political situation, and decided that the 
result of the election had put an end to Mc- 
Kinley and McKinleyism. But in less than 
four years from that date Mr. McKinley was 
nominated for the presidency against the 
combined opposition of half a dozen rival 
candidates. Much of the credit for his suc- 
cess was due to Mark A. Hanna, of Cleve- 
land, afterward chair;.ian of the Republican 
national committee. At the election which 
occurred in November, 1896, Mr. McKinley 
was elected president of the United States 
by an enormous majority, on a gold stand- 
ard and protective tariff platform. He was 
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1897, 
and called a special session of congress, to 
which was submitted a bill for tariff reform, 
which was passed in the latter part of July 
of that year. 



218 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER, 
known in the literary world as Joaquin 
Miller, "the poet of the Sierras," was born 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. When only 
about thirteen years of age he ran away 
from home and went to the mining regions 
in California and along the Pacific coast. 
Some time afterward he was taken prisoner 
by the Modoc Indians and lived with them 
for five years. He learned their language 
and gained great influence with them, fight- 
ing in their wars, and in all modes of living 
became as one of them. In 1858 he left 
the Indians and went to San Francisco, 
where he studied law, and in i860 was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Oregon. In 1866 he 
was elected a county judge in Oregon and 
served four years. Early in the seventies 
he began devoting a good deal of time to 
literary pursuits, and about 1874 he settled 
in Washington, D. C. He wrote many 
poems and dramas that attracted consider- 
able attention and won him an extended 
reputation. Among his productions maybe 
mentioned " Pacific Poems," " Songs of the 
Sierras," "Songs of the Sun Lands," 
' ' Ships in the Desert, " ' ' Adrianne, a Dream 
of Italy," "Danites, " "Unwritten History," 
" First Families of the Sierras " (a novel), 
" One Fair Woman " (a novel), "Songs of 
Italy," "Shadows of Shasta," "The Gold- 
Seekers of the Sierras," and a number of 
others. 

GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT, a 
noted music publisher and composer, 
was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts, on August 30, 1820. While 
working on his father's farm he found time 
to learn, unaided, several musical instru- 
ments, and in his eighteenth year he went 
to Boston, where he soon found employ- 
ment as a teacher of music. From 1839 



until 1844 he gave instructions in music in 
the public schools of that city, and was also 
director of music in two churches. Mr. 
Root then went to New York and taught 
music in the various educational institutions 
of the city. He went to Paris in 1850 and 
spent one year there in study, and on his re- 
turn he published his first song, "Hazel 
Dell." It appeared as the work of " Wur- 
zel," which was the German equivalent of 
his name. He was the originator of the 
normal musical institutions, and when the 
first one was started in New York he 
was one of the faculty. He removed to 
Chicago, Illinois, in i860, and established 
the firm of Root & Cady, and engaged in 
the publication of music. He received, in 
1872, the degree of "Doctor of Music" 
from the University of Chicago. After the 
war the firm became George F. Root & Co., 
of Cincinnati and Chicago. Mr. Root did 
much to elevate the standard of music in this 
country by his compositions and work as a 
teacher. Besides his numerous songs he 
wrote a great deal of sacred music and pub- 
lished many collections of vocal and instru- 
mental music. For many years he was the 
most popular song writer in America, and 
was one of the greatest song writers of the 
war. He is also well-known as an author, 
and his work in that line comprises: " Meth- 
ods for the Piano and Organ," "Hand- 
book on Harmony Teaching, " and innumer- 
able articles for the musical press. Among 
his many and most popular songs of the 
war time are: ' ' Rosalie, the Prairie-flower, " 
" Battle Cry of Freedom," " Just Before the 
Battle," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys 
are Marching," " The Old Folks are Gone," 
"A Hundred Years Ago," "Old Potomac 
Shore, "and " There's Music in the Air." Mr. 
Root's cantatas include "The Flower Queen" 
and "The Haymakers."' He died in 1896. 



PART II. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



OF 



LOGAN COUNTY, 



11^ ILLINOIS. 



m 




FRANK HOBLIT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



FRANK HOBLIT. 

Frank Hoblit, cashier ot tlie First Xa- 
tidiial Bank of Lincoln, occupies a foremost 
position among tlie prominent financiers in 
this section of tlie state. He is a man of 
keen discrimination and sound judgment, 
and liis executive ability and excellent man- 
agement have brought to the concern with 
which he is connected a high ilegree of suc- 
cess. 

j\ native of this county, Mr. Hoblit was 
born near Atlanta, November i, 1839, and 
is a son of Samuel and Abigail (Downey) 
Hoblit, who located here in 182Q, ha\ing 
come from Ohio. Here they toiled and la- 
bored, enduring the privations and hard- 
ships incident to pioneer life, and contribu- 
ting their full share toward developing the 
resources of this great commonwealth. 
They lived to enjoy the fruits of their la- 
bor and the esteem of all who knew them. 
The father died in this comity in iHi'iO, the 
mother in 1887. 

I-'rank Hoblit spent the days of his 
bo\'liood and youth upon his father's farm 
and was given the benefits of an excellent 
cf)mmon school education. In 1858 he be- 
gan his business career as clerk in a gen- 



eral store, and after graduating from a Chi- 
cago business college the following year, 
he accepted the position of cashier in a ])ri- 
\-ate bank, with which he was connected 
during the well remembered days of 
"stump-tail and wild-cat Ijanking meth- 
ods,'" then in vogue in this state. Subse- 
quently he formeil a partnership with a 
gentleman engaged in the banking business 
and general merchandising, which they con- 
ducted for five years at Atlanta. 

In March, 1866, Mr. Hoblit established 
the banking house of Frank Hoblit & Broth- 
ers, at Atlanta. Illinois, which business was 
afterward merged into the First National 
Bank of Atlanta and the Atlanta Bank. 
He retained his connection with the latter 
institution until 1887. when he and his 
brothers sold their interests to other par- 
ties. In 1878 he assisted in organizing the 
National State Bank of Bloomington and 
has been a director of that institution e\-er 
since. He also served as its president un- 
til 1882, when he resigned that position to 
take charge of the First National Bank 
of Lincoln, hax'ing purchased the control- 
ling interest in that concern. He has since 
ser\-ed as its cashier, and its success is cer- 
tainlv flue in a large measure to him. The 



224 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



safe, CDiiservative policy which he inaug- 
urated commends itself to (tlie (judgment 
of alK and has secured a patronage which 
mai<es the vohime of business transacted 
over its counters of great importance and 
magnitude. An evidence oi tlie prosperity 
of tlie bank is found in the fact that it has 
paid generous (hvidends since the day of 
its founding, having doubled its capital 
out of the profits which, up to the present 
time, including its capital, amount to one 
hundred ami fifty thousand dollars. Its 
total net earnings since its organization, in 
1873, have been three liun<lred and thirty- 
three thousand and live hundred dollars, 
while it has distributed in dividends to its 
stockholders during the same period two 
liundred and eighty-two thousand and h\e 
hundred dollars. Mr. Hoblit has l)een ably 
assisted in building up the bank by its first 
president, John D. (iillett, now deceased; 
Frank Frorer, now its president; Judge 
James T. Hoblit, its vice-president: S. S. 
Hoblit, the assistant cashier; and its board 
of directors, who have always taken an 
active interest in its affairs. 

In 1864 Mr. Hoblit was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mellie Allen, a daughter 
of Dr. J. S. Allen, a well-known and highly 
esteemed physician of Atlanta, Illinois. 
They have four chiklren, namely: Walter 
B., Mary E., Emma and Amy. The fam- 
ily have an elegant home in Lincoln and 
are quite prominent socially. 

Mr. Hoblit owns some valualile property 
in Lincoln and Logan county, and is also 
interested in Texas oil lands, from which 
he has realized a handsome profit. Having 
been continuously engaged in the banking 
business for more than thirty-tive years, 
he holds a prominent place in the councils 
of bankers, and his standing and ability 
as a financier have been recognized by his 



election as one of the \-ice-presidents of 
the State Bankers' Association of Illinois, 
in which capacity he is now serving his 
third term. In early life he was a supporter 
of the Republican party, and was a delegate 
to- ihe national Republican convention held 
in Philadelphia in 1872, at which time 
(jrant and Wilson were nominated, but be- 
ing a strong temperance man he now affili- 
ates with the Pr(.)hibition party. He is 
an attendant of the Baptist church and is a 
liberal contributor to charitable and relig- 
ious institutions. He is thorcjughly inter- 
ested in whate\er tends to promote the 
moral, intellectual and material welfare of 
Lincoln, and is one oi the trustees and 
treasurer of Lincoln Uni\-ersity, now Lin- 
coln College, a college of considerable 
prominence, founded in 1865, to which he 
has contributed his share toward its suc- 
cess as an educational institution. Mr. 
Hcblit lias traveled e.xtensively throughout 
the United States and Europe, and in addi- 
tion of his thorough knowledge of bank- 
ing and finance is widely read and well in- 
formed. He is genial, courteous, enterpris- 
ing and progressive, and is one of the most 
popular and influential citizens of Lincoln. 



FREDERICK J. WILLMERT. 

No better illustration of the character- 
istic energy and enterprise of the typical (ler- 
man-American citizen can l>e found than 
that aft'orded by the career of this well- 
known resident of Chester township. Com- 
ing to this country with no capital except 
his abilities, he has made his way to suc- 
cess through wisely directed effort and can 
now look back with satisfaction ui)on ])ast 
struggles. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



225 



Mr. W'illmert was Ixini Octul)er 14. 
1837. in W^aldeck, (iermaii}-, near Hesse Cas- 
sel, and is' a son of I'eter and Katlierina 
(Volliort) W'illmert. The mother died in 
that country, hut the father came with our 
suhject to America, and his death nccurred 
here in i8S(;. The\' liad four cliildren, three 
sons and one daughter, ni whom two sons 
died in Logan county. Our suhject is the 
onlv sur\-iving memher of this faniilw Kate, 
who was the widow of .Samuel I'rautigam, 
ched Octoher 22. 1901. 

During liis hoyhood Mr. W'illniert at- 
tended the pul.ilic schools of his nati\'e land 
tmtil fourteen years of age, antl was reared 
to agricultural pursuits. In 1858 he crosse<l 
the . Atlantic and came direct to Mason coun- 
ts Illinois, where he remained until 18(14. 
On landing in this country he was unahle to 
S])eak a word of English, and his knowledge 
of the language has heen self-acquired. 
After working as a farm hand for two and 
a half years, at twelve dollars [)er month, 
he rented a farm in Mason county, which he 
operated until ]8f)4, when he took u\) his 
residence in Logan count}-. Here he rented 
land one year, and then hought one hunth'ed 
acres in Llroadwell township, ]Kn-ing fift\' 
dollars per acre, ha\ing made the mone\' 
during his residence in .\.merica. After re- 
siding thereon for fiye years he sold that 
place and jjurchased one hundred and si.\t\' 
acres in Chester townshi]), at fort}' dollars 
per acre. This he has improyed. and as lie 
has pros])ered in his farming operations, he 
has added to it from time to time, until he 
now has four hundred and seyent}'-five acres 
in one farm and two hundred and thirt}-- 
three acres in another. P)oth are located in 
Chester township, and are under culti\'ation 
and well improyed. In addition to general 
farming, Mr. W'illmert is engaged in stock 



raising and in l)(jlh undertakings has heen 
eminenth' successful. 

Mr. W'illmert was married March 12. 
1862, to Miss Elizaheth Amhrust, who is 
also a natiye of Germany and is now fifty- 
se\en years of age. She came to Lincoln, 
Illin(jis, in March, 1834. her father, .\ndrew 
.\mhrust, heing one of the early farmers 
near Lincoln. Unto them were hf)rn ten 
children, and those still li\'ing are Kate, wife 
of George Gimhle, w:io operates a part of her 
father's farm; Rose, Louise, Frederick, 
Jacoh and George, all at home. Four 
daughters are deceased. The children ha\-e 
heen educated in the country schools of this 
county. The family are memhers of St. 
John's Lutheran church at Lincoln, of 
which .Mr. W'illmert is one of the trustees, 
and he takes an active ])art in church work. 
His ])olitical support is always gi\'en the 
men and measures of the Democratic ]iarty, 
hut he has ne\er heen an office seeker. He 
has served, however, as school director for 
six years and takes a commendahle interest 
in jjuhlic affairs. He deserves great credit 
for the success he has achieyed in life and 
well merits an honored place among the reji- 
resentati\e citizens of Logan count\-. 



P.\UL H. STEEX. 



Paul H. Steen, an e.xtensi\-e and prosper- 
ous farmer residing on section 11, Prairie 
Creek township, Logan count}-. Illinois, has 
lived in Logan county since 1 871. hut is a 
nati\-e of (jermany, having heen horn there 
in 1839, and is a son of Harmon and ,\nnie 
(Johnson) Steen. hoth nati\-es of German}-, 
who came to .Vmerica in June. 1850, and 
settled in Pekin, Illinois. .\ few days after 



226 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



they .settled in their new hunie the fatiier be- 
came ill and died a month later, in July, 
1850, and some time later the nmther fol- 
lowed him. Six children were horn to 
them. Paul H., our subject, and Annie, 
wife of John Jansen, a bricklayer, of Pekin, 
Jllinois, are the only ones living'. The 
others were: Lena; John; and two who 
died in infanc)'. 

(Jur suliject was eleven }ears of age 
when he had the misfortune to lose his par- 
ents, and he was sent to Peoria, where he 
remained until he was fourteen years old, 
living- with a family by the name of Borau. 
They lived twelve miles from Peoria, and 
here he remained for three years. At the 
expiration of that time nur subject went to 
Pekin and worked by the m(.)nth until the 
war broke out. 

On April i, 1861, he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
for a three months' term, under Colonel 
Oglesby and Captain Hanna. During this 
time he participated in no engagements, and 
was then transferred to Company I, same 
regiment, under Captain Wilson. The first 
engagement in which he was a participant 
was that of Fort Henr}-. He also took part 
in the siege of Fort Donelson and the liattle 
of Shiloh, and in the latter engagement, on 
April 6, 1862, received a bullet in his side, 
which remains to this day. For three weeks 
he was in the hospital at Savannah, and was 
then transferred to the hospital at Quincy, 
Illinois, where he remained aljout a month. 
After this he returned home on account of 
his wound and remained until the fall of 
1862, when he returned to his company, 
then stationed at Jackson, Tennessee, and 
participated in General Grant's siege of 
Vicksliurg, being in same from May 19 until 
lulv 4, 1863. After engaging in several 



skirmishes and se\'eral raids he was sick in 
Vicksburg in the winter of 1863-4, and was 
hoUDrablv discharged at Springfield, in July, 
1864, and returned to Pekin, Illinois. 

Returning home, Mr. Steen engaged in 
teaming until 1871, when he removed to 
Logan county and settled on his present 
farm, which at that time consisted of one 
hundred and sixty acres of prairie land. He 
cultivated it and now owns two hundred 
and eighty acres on section 1 1 , where he car- 
ries on general farming and also raises a 
good many hogs for market. He has met 
witli a large measure of success, which is 
due entirely to his own efforts, as he has 
ne\-er gained by inheritance. 

in 1 87 1 he married Maggie Look, of 
Pekin, who died March 6, 1884. In 1888 
he married Rena Wentzel, a native of this 
conntv and a daughter of John Wentzel, 
who now lives in Iowa, although he was an 
earlv settler of Logan county. Six children 
were born of the first marriage, namely : 
Annie, wife of Ties Zimmer, who lix'es near 
our suliject; Herman and Lena, at home; 
Katrina, John and Grettie, all three de- 
ceased. Two children were born of the sec- 
ond marriage, namely : Christiana and 
aul. Jr., both at home. 

^Ir. Steen is a Republican in politics, 
and was assessor of the township for one 
year and school director for about twenty- 
seven vears and still h<ilds that oftice. For 
a number of \ears he served as road com- 
missioner of the township. Socially he is 
a member of the G. A. R., Post No. 185, of 
Lincoln. Some tnne ago Mr. Steen's team 
ran away and he broke his leg, which has 
never fully recovered its normal condition, 
but our subject has borne the affliction 
bravely and is as active and overlooks his 
affairs as A-igorously as ever. He is a man 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



227 



who commands the deepest respect of the 
entire community, and lias many friends all 
over the county as well as in his immediate 
neiHiborhood. 



< ■ » 



WILLLUI B. JOXES. 

^^■illiam B. Jones, who is now living- a 
retired life in the city of Lincoln, was for 
man_\- years one of her' most prominent at- 
torneys, and won for himself an enviable 
reputatidu among the legal fraternity of 
this section of the state. He is probablv the 
oldest lawyer in Illinois, having been li- 
censed to practice in 1837. He was born 
on the 4th of February. 1816, near Glas- 
gow, Barren county, Kentuck}-, and is of 
Welsh descent. His grandfather, \\'illiam 
Jones, was a native of Virginia and was a 
pioneer settler of Kentucky. During the 
trouble with the Indians in early days he 
and his family were often forced to seek 
shelter in the blockhouses and forts near 
which they made their home. He married 
a :\Iiss \\'ren, also a native of the Old Do- 
mmion. John Jones, the father of our sub- 
ject, was Iiorn in the same state, but was 
reared in Kentucky, where he wedded :\Iiss 
Jilary Young, a native of that state. Being a 
strong anti-slavery man, he finally came 
north and spent his last days in Grand View. 
Iowa, where he died in 1843. His wife 
died in the afternoon of the same dav, and 
they were buried in the same grave. By 
occupatii^n he \\-as a farmer and school 
teacher. In his family were eleven chil- 
dren, si.x sons and five daughters, namely: 
Angelina, William B., Keziah, Edward. 
Elizabeth and Xancy, twins, Charlotte, 
John. Robert, Samuel and Christopher T.' 
Reared in his native state, William B. 

13 



Jones obtained his education in its private 
and subscription schools, and remained un- 
der the parental roof until nineteen vears of 
age, aiding his father in the work of the 
farm. On starting out in life for himself 
he was superintendent of a spinning and 
carding factory in Kentucky for two years. 
He then read law with Franklin Gorin, of 
Glasgow-, that state, and on securing a 
license to practice, in .Alay, 1837, he opened 
an oftice in Glasgow. Subsequently he en- 
gaged in practice in Franklin countv. Ken- 
tuck}-, where he built up a good practice. 
During the Civil war he was a strong Union 
man, and was once condemned to be hung 
for his outspoken sentiment in fa\-or of pre- 
serving the Union. At this time he became 
a firm friend of John M. Palmer. For 
eight years he represented his district, com- 
prising ten counties in Kentucky, as attor- 
ney for the commonwealth, and was re- 
elected in 1862 without opposition. Re- 
signing in 1866, jMr. Jones came to Lin- 
coln. Illinois, where he has since made his 
home, and was successfully engaged in the 
practice of law until 1895, "^vhen he retired. 
He was thoroughly \ersed in the law and 
enjoyed a large and lucrati\-e practice. He 
tried many cases before the supreme court, 
and attained a high position in professional 
circles. 

On the loth of May, 1838, Mr. Jones 
married Miss Hilary P. Lewis, of Warren 
count}-. Kentuck}-, a daughter of James A. 
and Alargaret Lewis. She died in Mor- 
g-antown, that state, August 19, 1844, leav- 
ing four children, namely : Virgil A. ; El- 
nora I., who died October 30, 1881 : Eugenia 
A., who died .May 22, 1886; and John X. T. 
Mr. Jones was again married, April 14. 
1846, his second union being with Miss 
Mary A. Alann. who died February 21. 
1896. Four children blessed this marriage: 



22t 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



James S., born in 1847: Harriet B., born 
June 29. 1848; Elizabeth, born January 29, 
1850; and William O., born April 29. 1852. 
'On attaining- his majority Mr. Jones be- 
came identified with the Whig party, and on 
the organization of the Republican party 
joined its ranks, having since fought under 
its banner. Since 1848 he has been an ac- 
tive member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
was master of his lodge for twelve consecu- 
tive years. Although now in his eighty- 
sixth' vear, he still enjoys good health, 
which is probably due to his temperate hab- 
its and the upright, honorable life that he 
has led. He has ever supported those in- 
terests which are calculated to uplift and 
henefit humanity, while his own high moral 
worth is deserving of the highest commen- 
dation. 

■» « » • 

HENRY BANGERT. 

As an experienced miner and capable 
and efficient mine foreman, Henry Bangert 
is regarded as one of the most valued offi- 
cials of the Citizens' Mining Company, lo 
cated at Lincoln. Illinois. The l)irdi of Mr. 
Bangert occurred in Baden, Germany, Aprd 
J I, t853, and he is a son of John and Bar- 
jjara liangert. The father still resides on 
his farm in Germany, a respected octogenar- 
ian, but the mother passed away in 1900, at 
the age of seventy-nine years. They were 
the honored parents of nine children, the six 
survivors of the famil>- being: Mary, who 
lives in the old country; Henry, who is the 
subject of this sketch; Maggie, who is the 
wife of Henry Frieach, of Springfield, Illi- 
nois; and John. Eva and Barbara, who still 
remain in (iermany. 

Henrv Bangert. the suljject of this bio^- 
raphv, attendecr school in Baden until he was 
about fifteen years of age, leaving home at 



that time intent upon seeing something of 
the world. He had been instructed in tile 
making and traveled through many parts of 
his own country and extended his journey- 
ing through Switzerland and Alsace. After 
four years thus sjjent he decided to emigrate 
to America, and in October, 1872, he be- 
came a resident of Springfield. Illinois, c<)m- 
ing thither direct from Germany. 

For eighteen months after reaching the 
United States Mr. Bangert followed coal 
mining, beginning as a coal digger, as his 
means were limited and at that time he 
could secure no higher position. I^-om 
Springfield he went to the coal regions of 
Iowa, then returned to Illinois, and later 
started out on a long trip through the min- 
ing localities of various states, visiting m 
this itinerary the states of Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Texas. Colorado, 
Indian Territory and penetrated even into 
New 'Mexico, engaging in mining in all 
these places and thereby gaining experience 
which he could have secured in no other 
way. This was really a mining school for 
our subject. 

On July II. 1887, Mr. Bangert located 
in Lincoln, Illinois, and immediately became 
mine manager at the shaft, the property of 
the Citizens' !\Iining Company, and this po- 
sition he has filled ever since to the complete 
satisfaction of the company whose interests 
he so carefully guards. 

Mr. Bangert was married in Virginia, 
Illinois, in 1884, to Miss Clara Jenks, who 
was born in Sangamon county, this state. 
Eight children have been l)orn to this 
un"ion, one of whom died in infancy, the 
others being: Harry, Charles. Eva, Louis, 
Frank, Wilham and George. Mr. Bangert 
luus looked carefully after the education of 
' his children, and all who have reached suffi- 
cient age are regular attendants at school. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



229 



In politics our subject is a stanch Re- 
publican, but he is one from principle and 
not because of political preferment. For 
many years he has been prominent m \ari- 
ous fraternal orders, being a \alued mem- 
ber of German Lodge, No. 345, I. O. O. F. ; 
Blue Lodge, Masonic, No. no; and Ancient 
Order of United Workmen, No. 109, in this 
organization having held official position 
and represented it in the grand lodge. 

Few men in this localit)- have succeeded 
better than Air. Bangert in the same num- 
ber of years. His education was entirely 
• in his own language, and his means were 
Innited when he reached Illinois, but he 
possessed the energy and industrv which 
his countrymen have shown in every line of 
endeavor, and has prospered accordingly 
and now owns property, is the head of an 
mtelligent family, respected bv his employ- 
ers and valued as a citizen. He has intro- 
duced into the mine many devices for the 
lessening of labor and the cheapening of 
production. 



^^'ILLIA^I \\-. aiccormick. 

Honored and respected bv all, there is 
no man in Emden or in L,gan count v who 
occuiMes a more en\iable position in 'finan- 
cial circles than M'illiam \V. McCormick. 
not alone on account of the brilliant success 
lie has achieved but also on account of the 
honorable, straightforward business policy 
he has ever followed. He is now the cash- 
ier and ow ner of the Farmers" Bank of Em- 
den, and is also closely connected with the 
agricultural interests of the county. 

Mr. McCormick represents an (,ld and 
pronn-nenl family of Orvil townshij). He 
was born in the capital of the nation on the 



29th of January, i860, a son of James and 
Ehza (McGowan) McCormick, both of 
whom were born in Scotland and at an early 
day came to \\^ashington, D. C, afterward 
settling in Orvil township, Logan county, 
Ilhnois. where the father turned his atten- 
tion to farming, purchasing a tract of land 
on sections 9 and 10, where he resided until 
his death, devoting his energies to agricul- 
tural pursuits, in which he met with grati- 
fying success. His widow and youngest 
son, "County Judge" Donald McCornu-ck, 
are now residents of Lincoln. 

To the schools of Valparaiso, Indiana 
\\'illiam \Y. McCormick is largely indebted 
for the educational privileges which he re- 
ceived. \\m his parents he came to this 
county and at once began farming on the 
old homestead in Orvil township. As a 
companion and helpmate for the journey of 
lite, September 2^. 1883, he chose Miss 
Flora A. Ogden, wh(.) was born near Minier 
Ilhnois, February 5, 1863, a daughter of 
Andrew J. and Alcinda C. (Summers) Og- 
<len, the former a native of Kentucky and 
the latter of Ohio. .\t an early period in 
the development of Logan countv they be- 
came residents of Orvir township and were 
identified with its fanning interests until 
called to the home beyond. Unto Mr. and 
Mrs. McCormick have been born four chil- 
dren, R. Leslie. J. B^ron, \V. Wayne and D. 
Dean, aged thirteen, eight, five and two 
}-ears respectively. 

Near the old homestead Mr. McCor- 
mick continued to engage in farming until 
1891, when the Farmers' Bank of Emden 
was organized and he was made cashier, in 
which capacity he has since served. The 
success of the institution is largely due to 
the enterprising efforts of Mr. McCormick, 
who is now the o\vner, and is well known a.s 
a very reliable, trustworthy man of sound 



230 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business judgment and keen sagacity. He 
owns farms in Kansas and Colorado and 
alxjut four liundretl and forty acres of fine 
farming land in sections 3, 4, 9 and 10, 
Orvil township, and he and his famil_\- 
still reside at the farm residence, although 
the land is all cultixated through the agency 
of hired help and tenants. He daily drives 
to and from Emden, where he is always 
found at his desk between the banking hours 
of nine in the nuirning and half past four in 
the aiK-rnoon. 

Mr. ]\IcCormick gives his political sup- 
port to the Sound Money Democratic party, 
firmly l>elieving that its principles are most 
conducive to the general good. He is a 
charter member of the Knights of Pythias 
lodge in Emden, and both he and his wife 
belong to the Christian church of Bethel, 
which is located near their home. His 
career has ever been such as to warrant the 
trust and confidence of the business world, 
^ for he has ever conducted all transactions 
on the strictest principles of honor and in- 
tegrity. His devotion to the public good is 
unciuestioned and arises from a sincere in- 
terest in the welfare of his fellow men. 



HON. JOHN EDWARD AHLLER. 

One of the most popular, prominent and 
valued citizens of Logan county is John Ed- 
ward Miller, who is now serving as treas- 
m^er of the county and as mayor of the city 
of Lincoln. Throughout his entire life he 
has resided in this locality, and his life rec- 
ord is in contradistinction to the old proverb 
that a prophet is ne\-er without honor save 
in his own C(iuntr\-. His keen discernment, 
business ability and. moreover, his unques- 
tioned lovaltv to the best interests of citv 



and county have led to his elevation to offi- 
cial honors, and by the faithful discharge 
of his duties he has established himself even 
more firmly in the regard and confidence of 
his fellow men. 

]\Ir. [Miller was born upon his father's 
farm in Logan county, June 21. 1854, a son 
of Jeremiah and Sarah A. (Hawes) Mil- 
ler, both of whom were natives of Ken- 
tucky. The father was born in Shelby 
county, that state, January 27, 1827, and 
when two }-ears of age was taken by his par- 
ents, Dabner and Elizabeth [Miller, to Mon- 
roe count\'. Indiana, where he was reared 
to manhood. In 1840 he came to Logan 
county, and on the 3d of February, 1850, 
was united in marriage to [Miss Sarah 
Hawes, a daughter of John and Sarah 
Hawes, who were early settlers of this 
county. Unto IMr. and Mrs. Aliller were 
born seven children, six of whom reached 
years of maturit}-,. namely: Arthur P., 
Clara A., J. Edward. Charles A., Frank H. 
and W'illiam A. After his marriage Jere- 
miah Miller took up his abode in Orvil 
township, and later removed to Eminence 
township, Axhere he made his home until 
1876, when he went to Lincoln in order to 
provide his children with the better educa- 
tional advantages afforded by the city 
schools. At a later date he returned to the 
farm in Eminence township, where he re- 
mained until i88j, when he went to At- 
lanta, where he spent his remaining days. 
He departed this life on the 2d of October, 
1885, and his remains were interred in 
Bethel cemetery. He was a consistent 
member of the Christian church and for a 
number of years served as one of its dea- 
cons. His wife is still living in Atlanta, 
and she, too, is a devoted member of the 
Christian church, her life having ever been 
in harmony with her professions. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



231 



Mr. Miller, whose name intnuluces this 
review, spent his youth upon the home farm 
and attended the district schools. During 
the period of vacation he assisted in the la- 
bors of the fields, thus early becoming famil- 
iar with the duties which fall to the lot of 
the agriculturist. After his preliminary 
education was completed he entered the 
State University, at Lexington, Kentucky, 
and .subsecjuently he pursued a commercial 
course of stud\-. When his education was 
completed and Ij^' careful mental discii)line 
he was well prepared for the important and 
responsible duties of life, he returned to 
Logan county and engaged in handling- 
grain and live stock at Hartsburg. He car- 
ried on the enterprises with success, con- 
ducting a profitaljle business in grain and 
stock. As the vears passed his capital 
steadily increased, and with a comfortable 
competence he removed to Lincoln in 1891, 
where he has since resided, but he still con- 
ducts his liusiness at Hartsburg. 

On the 24 th of September, 1879, ]Mr. 
Miller was united in marriage to Miss Ida 
Hummell, of Lincoln, a daughter of David 
; and Ellen (Stanfield) Hummell, and their 
union has been blessed with si.x children : 
Ethel. Clarence. Mildred, Marie, Charles 
and Frank. The generous and gracious 
hospitality of the home has made it a favor- 
ite resort with the many friends of the fam- 
ily, and the members of the household are 
highly esteemed. 

For a number of years Mr. Miller has 
been a recognized factor in political circles. 
He stanchly advocates the principles of the 
Republican party and co-operates in the 
movements for the extension of its influence 
and power. For three years he has served 
as a member of the city council of Lincoln, 
and in 1898 he became the Republican can- 
didate for 'countv treasurer. The election 



returns showed that he was the victorious 
candidate and he filled the office so accept- 
ably that he was again nominated and 
elected, so that he is the present incumbent. 
In the spring of 1901 he was elected mayor 
of Lincoln, and is now creditably filling the 
office. His administration is business-like 
and practical, yet not without that progress- 
ive spirit which leads to substantial improve- 
ment and upbuilding. His official career is 
one o\-er which there falls no shadow of 
suspicion or distrust. Honorable and 
straightforward, the record is an open book 
that will bear the closest scrutiny. His per- 
sonal characteristics are such as to have won 
for him man\- friends, and in the history of 
his native county he well deserx'es prominent 

U'cntion. 

♦-•-♦ 

willia:m l. dowxlxg. 

Among the successful farmers and stock 
raisers of Chester township is William L. 
Downing, one of the substantial and lead- 
ing agriculturists of this county. The birth 
<if ]\[r. Downing occurred on his present 
farm, June 2. 1867. and he is a son of 
L. D. and Sarah ( Shoup) Downing, the 
former of whom is one of the prominent 
citizens of Logan county. 

\\'illiam L. Downing received his edu- 
cation in the public schools of his district, 
and remained at home, assisting his father, 
the latter having extensive farming inter- 
ests. William took the heavier duties upon 
his younger shoulders, and proved to be a 
\'erv capable antl judicious farmer and stock 
raiser. At the time of his marriage, in 
1891, he took complete charge of the farm, 
consisting of two hundred and sixty-eight 
acres, and since that time he has given close 
attentiiju to a general line of farming, and 



232 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has been particularly interested in the rais- 
ing of superior stuck. During the whole 
year he keeps a herd of cattle and gix'cs 
his personal supenMsion to their care. 

j\lr. Downing was married October 22, 
1891, to Sarah \\'hitney. who was born on 
Mav 29. 1869, and is a daughter of Willard 
Whitney, a resident of Aetna township, 
where the family is an old and honored one. 
Tq Mr. and Mrs. Whitney were born seven 
children, namely: Adaline, the wife of 
Albert Clark, of Washington : Sarah, the 
wife of our subject: Minnie; Charles L. : 
Dottie; John: and Florence, all of whom 
were educated in the district schools. Airs. 
Whitney died in 1898. 

In politics Air. Downing has always 
supported the Republican party, from prin- 
ciple, refusing all party preferment. He is 
largely interested in many (jf the financial 
organizations in Logan county, mie of these 
being the Farmers' Alutual Insurance Com- 
pany, of Lincoln, and he is also a stock- 
holder in the Horse Company, of Alount 
Pulaski. Fraternally he is connected with 
Camp 154, Modern Woodmen of America, 
of Mount Pulaski, and is a member of the 
Order of Alystic \\'orkers. Airs. Down- 
ing is a valued member of the Alethodist 
church, and Air. Downing is a liberal sup- 
porter of all Christian organizations. His 
standing in the county is high, and he enjo\'s 
tlie esteem and respect of all who have 
known him from boyhood days. 

♦ » » 



PATRICK BOHAX. 

As one of the successful managers of 
large landed estates in Illinois. Air. Pxihan 
is well known in the \-icinity of Elkhart, 
and possesses an authoritative knowledge 
upon all matters pertaining to agriculture. 
He was born in Logan county, Illimiis, April 



4, i8f)8, and inherits the aptitude for the 
work to which he is devoting his energies, 
for his father, James Bohan, a native of 
Tipperary, Ireland, a most e.xemplary man, 
was engaged for the greater part of his life 
in stud}'ing the soil and its possibilities. 
Upon emigrating to America the elder Bo- 
han worked on a truck farm in New York 
state for eight dollars a m(_)nth, and so won 
the confidence of his first employers that 
they gave him a letter of recommendation 
of which anyone might be proud. This let- 
ter, written Iiy A. Alann. Jr., of IJ Wall 
street, Jamaica. Queens county. New York, 
Alarch 4, 1855, explicitly sets forth the vari- 
ous excellent qualifications of Mr. Bohan, 
and lavs particular stress upon his industry, 
absolute integritv. good habits and high 
moral character. The letter is still in the 
possession of his son Patrick and is valued 
because of the implied insight into his fa- 
ther's character. Air. Bohan came to Illi- 
nois in 1855, and for two years was en- 
gaged in railroading, after which he engaged 
in farming. In 1861 he began to work for 
John D. Gillette, assuming charge of his 
farm interests, and remained in this capacity 
for twenty-six years. During this time he 
had the management of three thousand 
acres of land and an immense number of 
cattle. His latter days were spent in com- 
parati\-e retirement in Elkhart, where his 
death occurred September 28, 1895. He 
(?wned eighty acres of fine land which, in 
his declining years he took pleasure in man- 
aging and improving. During his long and 
useful life he never took a glass of any kind 
of intoxicant. Although a stanch Demo- 
crat, he in\arial)lv refused public office. He 
was a member of the Catholic church. Airs. 
Bohan, who was born near Ramsey, Isle of 
Alan, is li\-ing with her son Patrick, her 
ether son having died in infancy. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



233 



Patrick Bohan was educated in the \n\h- 
lic schools of Elkhart, and when' eighteen 
years of age took a course at the Springfield 
Business College, from which he was grad- 
uated in April of 1887. Following his fa- 
ther's example, he then started in to work 
for Jolui D. Gillette, and March i, 1889, as- 
sumed charge of Miss Jessie D. Gillette's 
farm of twelve hundred acres, and in 1899 
also undertook the management of the eight- 
een-hundred-acre farm of her sister, Mrs. 
Charlotte G. Barnes. This constituted 
practically the same land o\er which his 
father had control for so ma\iy years. Mr. 
Bohan has served as a niemher of the Elk- 
hart l)oard of trustees and has heen city 
clerk. He is a memher of Saint Patrick's 
Catholic church, and is a Democrat in poli- 
tics. 

♦-•-•^ 

WILLIAM T. BRIGGS. 

U])on a jjortion of the farm which he 
now occupies, near Broad well, Mr. Briggs 
was horn October 6. 1835. In the inter- 
\'ening years he has known no other home, 
nor has any other part of the state appealed 
to him as more desiral>le for cultivation 
than the fertile acres upon which his father 
settled in the early pioneer days. His 
memory travels back to th.e time when a 
vast prairie stretcl*d as far as the eye could 
see, before fences were built or impro\'e- 
ments begun, and he has interestedly 
watched the moving events and the trans- 
formation of Illinois into one of the finest 
agricultural regions in the L'nited States. 
Later on he recalls the incidents connected 
with the Mexican war. his cousin being cap- 
tain of the home company, and he attended 
the rally at Pustville, in 1846, and, with the 
untried enthusiasm of a voungster of elex'en 
shouted himself hoarse while bidding God- 



speed to the departing troops. Later still, 
when the strife was fermenting between the 
north and the south, he used to attend the 
Republican rallies with his father, used to 
go to the county seat at ]\Iount Pulaski, saw 
the immortal Lincoln on more than one oc- 
casion, and went with his father to the polls 
when he cast his vote for this greatest man 
in American history. Through all of these 
experiences he has remained the tvpical 
middle western farmer, successful, large of 
heart and one of those who constitute the 
backbone of the nation's stabilitv. He 
owns a finely developed farm of twn hun- 
dred and eighty-seven acres, nearlv all of 
which is under cultix'ation, being principally 
devfited to general farming. 

Charles L. Briggs, the father of William 
T., was born in Warren county, Kentuckv, 
in 1804, and married Alatilda Otey, who 
was born at Richmond, Virginia, in 1802. 
The cercmcin\- was performed about 1824, 
and soon after they departed for Illinois, 
settling in Logan county, where the re- 
mainder of their lives was spent. \\'illiam 
T. was the first born in Illinuis, and Ijesides 
him there were nine children, viz : Mar- 
tha, who is the wife of Charles Goldsmith 
and lives on a farm adjoining that of Will- 
iam T. : James O., who died on the plains of 
California in 1850; Margaret, now de- 
ceased, who was the wife of George Webb; 
Charlotte M., who married J. R. Allen and 
lives in Broadwell ; Julia O., who, with her 
husband, Samuel A\'ebb. is deceased, their 
deaths occurring respectively in 1858 and 
1898, in ^Missouri : William T. ; Charles L., 
who died in 1863 : D. P., who lives on a 
farm adjoining that of William T. : John, 
who died in 1862: and Hezekiah, who 
ser\ed during the Civil war for three years 
and was honorably discharged after being 
wounded in battle. 



234 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In hi:: yiiuth Mr. Briggs attended tlie 
eaiiv suliscription schools of Logan county, 
and lived on the home place until aljout 
twenty- live years of age, when he started 
out to independently farm a portion of his 
father's estate. In 1870 he married ]Mar- 
tha E. Hartis, a daughter of John Hartis, 
"whom, it is supposed, was born in Ken- 
tucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Hartis were born 
seven children : Lenora H., who is the wife 
of Simon Koons, of Broadwell : Alartha E., 
Avho is the wife of ^^'illiam Briggs ; Mary K., 
who lives with lier sister, Mrs. Briggs; 
John Wesley, who died about 1889: besides 
three others now deceased. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Briggs have been born the following- 
children : Lorena. \vho died in 1891; 
Thoiuas L., ^vho li\es in Xorth Dakota; 
Lucy M.; Charles L. ; John B. ; George M., 
Halla D. and William L., who are at home. 
IMr. Briggs is a de\-<.iut meml)er df the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, as are all of his 
family, and for some time he was a steward 
and trustee of the chur.ch at Broadwell. 



JUDGE LOUIS C. SCHWERDT- 
FEGER, LL. B. 

The law. when clijthed with its true 
purit}', dignity and ])Ower must rank first 
among the callings of men. It is the con- 
servator of justice, the protector of life and 
liberty and property, and he who interprets 
the law should be a man whose reputation 
is above the shadow of reproach. In choos- 
ing Louis C. Schwerdtfeger to act as county 
judge the citizens of Logan county called 
to the Ijench one \\hom the_\' knew to be 
faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and 
stainless in reputation. Throughout long- 
connection with the professional and finan- 



cial hiterests of Logan county he has ever 
demonstrated his right to the confidence of 
his fellow men by a straight- forward career, 
and added to this is his a1)ility at the bar, 
arising from a comprehensi\-e knowledge 
of the science of law. 

The Judge was born in New York city, 
July 30, 1856, a son of Henry and Pauline 
(Koehnle) Schwerdtfeger. The parents 
were bijth natives of Germany, the former 
born in Prussia and the latter in Wurtem- 
berg, and in 1851 they emigrated to the 
L'nited States, landing at New York after 
a voyage of fi\'e weeks upon a sailing ves- 
sel. For a time they resided in the east- > 
ern nietropolis and then removed tO' Jersey j 
City, where the subject of this rexiew en- 
joyed the educational iirivileges afforded I 
by the comn-ion schools. He was about ' 
twenty-one years of age when he came to 
Lincoln, where he has since matle his home. 
A young man with his life work before him, 
resolute and determined, he took up the task ,, 
and has ad\'anced steadilv in the path of 
prosperit)- and honor. In the fall of 1877 
he became a student in the law department 
of the State University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor, graduating therefrom with the class 
of 1879. Being admitted to practice at the 
bar of Illinois, he opened an otifice in Lin- 
coln and has since risen to distinction as 
a member of the bar of Logan county. In 
1881, however, there came a digression in 
his law work, for he entered the field of 
journalism, Ijecoming the proprietor of the 
Lincoln Daily Recortl, the name of which 
he changed to the Daily Journal. The fol- 
lowing year he also published the Logan 
County Tribune, conducting both papers 
initil 1883. A\hen lie resumed the practice 
of law. Xo drear_\- noviate awaited him. 
His clientage grew- rapidly, both in volume 
and iniportance, and he was soon in com- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



237 



mand of a large law business, connecting 
him with some of the most important liti- 
gations tried in the courts of his district. 
In January, 1887, however, he gave up the 
private practice of law to become a factor 
in financial circles in this part of the state, 
assuming tlie management (if the (lerman- 
American National Bank, which he had aid- 
ed in establishing. He was made its cashier 
and has since remained in that position, his 
keen business sagacity, sound judgment and 
readiness in action well equipping him for 
the responsiljle duties which de\'olve upon 
him. The institution ranks among the 
strongest financial concerns in this part of 
Illinois and well deserves its reputation, for 
back of it stand men of solid financial stand- 
ing and Ijusiness worth. 

Judge Schwerdtfeger's fellow towns- 
men, however, have also claimed his service 
in public office. For two terms he was 
a meinlier nf the citv cnuncil, serving from 
1890 until 1894, when he was elected coun- 
ty judge, a position which he held for a 
term nf four years. A contemporary biog- 
rapher has said of him: As a judge on the 
bench he has distinguished himself as a 
■wise and able jurist, bringing to bear in the 
discharge of his official duties all those 
qualities of probity, discernment and strict 
integrity that characterize him as a lawyer 
and as a lousiness man." 

Judge L. Schwerdtfeger Avas made a ^la ■ 
son in Lincoln Lodge, No. 210. in 1880, 
and is also a member of Logan Chapter, 
No. 147, R. A. M.. and Constantine Com- 
mandery. No. 51, K. T., of which he was 
eminent commander. He represented his 
commandery in the grand commandery of 
the state and is also a member of Peoria Con- 
sistory and Abiliamet Temple of the ]\Iystic 
Shrine. He belongs to Lincoln Lodge. No. 
204, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand. 



and represented his lodge in the grand 
lijdge of the state. He takes an active part 
in the work of the Modern \\'oodmen of 
America. 

In No\ember, 1880, occurred the mar- 
riage of the Judge and Miss Amelia L. 
Koehnle. of Lincoln, and unto them have 
been born five children, namely : Lucille P., 
Bertram H., Estelle A., \\'illiam K. and 
James Harry. The gracious hospitality of 
their home is enjoyed by a very large circle 
of friends. The Judge is a member of the 
American ]Microscopical Society, and spends 
much of his leisure time in study of the sci- 
ences. He is to-day a man of broad scholarly 
attainments, well versed on the social, politi- 
cal and economic questions which claim 
public attention, and is in politics an uncom- 
promising Republican. He is recognized as 
a leader in the ranks of the party in the coun- 
ty, and his able arguments and strong per- 
suasive powers have been a potent factor in 
extending" Republican influence. Keenly 
alive to the interests of the city as well as 
those of state and nation, he co-operates in 
e\'erv movement for tlie general good, and 
has been the promoter of a number of enter- 
prises which have resulted in advancing pub- 
lic prosperity. He stands to-day as one of 
the most popular, honored and respected 
men of Logan county — one who by the im- 
provement of his opportunities and the faith- 
ful discharge of every duty of life has gained 
the esteem of all with whom he is asso- 
ciated. 

■•-•-♦ 

JAMES ^^lELROSE. 

I 

James ^Melrose, deceased, was one of the 
liest-known and highly esteemed citizens of 
Logan county, Illinriis. He was a native of 
the state, born in Edwards countv, Febru- 



238 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ary 2 1,. 1826. and was one of eight cliildren 
born to Archibald Alelrose and wife. The 
father, who departed this hfe in Edwards 
county, was an extensive farmer. 

The hfe of a farmer boy is one unend- 
ing round of toil, and that of our subject 
was no exception to the rule. From the 
time he was old enough to do the small 
chores necessary in farm life he had to do 
his share of the work. This experience 
formed in him habits of industry that clung 
to him through life. Like a faithful son. he 
assisteil on the home farm until he was six- 
teen years of age. at which time his father 
died, the mother having passed away five 
years jjrevious. Being thus left to care for 
himself, he assisted his brother on a farm 
in ^\'ayne county, and by hard work ami 
economv he soon accumulated enough to 
purchase for himself eighty acres in that 
countv. which he worked faithfully for 
some time. He then moved to Iowa, where 
he carried on the same occupation for two 
years, after which he returned to Illinois 
and settled in Oran township. Here he 
purchased eighty acres of well-imjjroved 
land, where he and his family made their 
home until his death, which occurred on 
]\lay 20. 1895. 

On September 20. 1841, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary Shores, daugh- 
ter of Hiram Shores, of \\'a_\ne county. 
The following children were born to them : 
Emily, now Mrs. Charles Hawes, of .\u- 
gusta. Kansas : Lovina. who died June 2t,. 
1900: Louisa, who departed this life April 
21, 1884: Charles Wesley, now a resident 
of Oklahoma; John F.. who died Septem- 
ber 29, 1881 ; Mar\^ E.. who became the 
wife of S. H. Thornburg an(( lives in Ne- 
braska: James A., a farmer in Logan coun- 
tv ; Edwin, who resides at home with his 



mother: Thomas C, a resident of Chicago; 
and EfRe. who died October 2t,. 1882. 

The entire family are members of the 
Alethodist Episcopal church. Mr. Alelrose 
served as school director for many years. 
The widow, with (jne son. resides in a com- 
fortable home in Atlanta, but still conducts 
the home farm in Oran township. The 
death cif Mr. Melrose was not onl_\- a sad 
blow to his own immediate family but to 
the entire communitv in which he had so 
long resided. 



JAMES FR_vXKLIX HYDE. 

.\mong the old and honored citizens of 
Lincoln none are held in higher regard than 
the gentleman whose name introduces this 
sketch. A native of Massachusetts, he was 
born in Pittsfield. Berkshire county. No- 
vember 19, 1813. and traces his ancestry 
back to an old antl distinguished English 
family. Sir Nicholas Hyde was chief jus- 
cice of the King's bench in 1626. and Ed- 
ward Hyde was grandfather of Queens 
Alary and Ann. The progenitor of the fam- 
ily in America was \\'illiam Hyde, who 
came to this country in 1636 and located in 
Hartford, Connecticut, where he married 
and reared his family. His son, Sanuiel 
Hyde, was born in 1637, and married Jane 
Lee. -\mong their children was Samuel 
Hyde, who was born in 1665 and married 
Elizalieth Calkins. Their son, Elijah 
Hyde, was born in 1705. and married Ruth 
Tracy. The next in direct descent was An- 
drew Hyde, our subject's great-grandfather, 
who was born in 1732 and married Hannah 
Thomas. The grandfather, who also bore 
the name of .\ndrew. was born in 1757. and 
married Rebecca Galpin, by whom he had 




THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



239 



the following children : Zebabah. Andrew, 
Eunice, Rebecca, Laura and Salma. 

Andrew Hyde, the second of this fam- 
ily, was the father of our subject. He was 
born in Lenox, ^Massachusetts, in 1788, and 
followed the weaver's trade in that state un- 
til 1 8^ J, when he removed to ^ledina coun- 
tv, Ohio, and made a home for himself and 
familv in the wilderness. His family was 
represented in the Re\"oluticinar_\- war, and 
he fought for American rights in tlie war of 
181J. He married Artimesia Ashley, a na- 
tive of Pittsfield, ^Massachusetts, and a 
daug"hter of Da\'id Ashle\', wlm also lie- 
longed to an old Massachusetts family that 
took quite a prominent part in government 
affairs. IMr. Ashley was one of the pio- 
neers of Ohio, removing to that state in 
1818. 

James F. Hyde, of this review, is the 
oldest in a familv of nine children, the others 
being as follows : Marilla A. married Rev. 
Ebenezer Xethaway. of Medina county, 
Ohio, and died in 1841. leaving children. 
Olive A. married .Monzo Bennett, of Clin- 
ton county, Michigan, and reared a family. 
Eliza ]\I. was the second wife of Rev. Ebe- 
nezer Nethaway, and died in 1847, leaving 
children. ]\lary S. also died in 1847. -^''' 
timesia A. married Curtis R. Fuller, a 
farmer of Clinton county, Michigan, and 
had one son, Charles L. Fuller, but all are 
now deceased. Lewis L., also deceased, 
married Lydia Jane Hubbard and left a fam- 
ily. Cyrus ]\I. married Hannah Finch and 
died in ^lontana, leaving a family. Emery 
B., a Alethodist clergyman of Wisconsin, 
married Martha Bates, but has no cliildren. 

During the infanc\- of our subject his 
parents removed to Richmond. Massa- 
chusetts, where they made their home for 
nine years, and there he began his education 
in its public schools. The family then re- 



moved to Aledina county, Ohio, in Octiiber, 
1822, and he grew to manhood amid pioneer 
scenes. Wild animals roamed through the 
forest and the Indians were far more nu- 
merous than the white settlers. There Mr. 
Hvde's school privileges were limited to 
three months" attendance during the year, 
but he made the most of his advantages and 
acfjuired a good education by study at home. 

At the age of seventeen he liecame a 
mail carrier, and in the discharge c^f the 
duties of that position endured many hard- 
ships, riding on horseback through dense 
forests, swimming streams and braving 
storms. In February, 1832, he commenced 
clerking in the store of O. ]\I. Oviatt & 
Bronson. at Richfield, Ohio. He went to 
Xiles, Summit county. Obit), in Xovem])er, 
1834, where he was similarly employed by 
\'oris & Company for a few months, but 
the following March went to Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, and engaged in clerking for 
Harris & Styles for a short time. He then 
returned to Richfield. Ohio, and resumed 
work with 0\iatt & Bronson. In Septem- 
ber, 1836, he traveled westward to the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers, and on the ist of Oc- 
tober became clerk on the steamer Exchange, 
then plving between Cincinnati and Cuyan- 
dotte. Virginia, vmder the command of Cap- 
tain Leet. On the opening of navigation 
the following spring he shipped as second 
clerk on the steamer Baltic at Cincinnati, 
bound for Xew Orleans, and on his arrival 
in that city took his first ride on a railroad 
train. On account of the panic he then re- 
turned to Ohio, and engaged in clerking in 
the store of H. & R. Hammond, at Bath, 
where he remained until the following Oc- 
tober. 

!Mr. Hyde then started west by way of 
the Ohio river, and arrived in Pittsfield, 
Pike count}-, Illinois, Xo\-ember 8, 1837. 



240 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The following spring he commenced teach- 
ing in that connt}- on trial, and so success- 
ful was he that he taught there for three 
3-ears. He had charge of a school at Sum- 
mer Hill six years, and in 1848 accepted a 
position as teacher in the Pittsfield schools, 
where he remained t\vel\-e years. In April, 
i860, he embarked in a mercantile enter- 
prise, which he successfully carried on dur- 
ing the Civil war. In 1865 he divided his 
capital, lea\-ing half in Pittsfield, and re- 
moved to Lincoln, where, in companv with 
J. T. Cadwaller, Dr. Thomas Lewis and 
C. Hoskins, he openetl a drug, dry goods 
and grocery store under the firm name of 
Hyde, Hoskins & Company, being in busi- 
ness here for three years. In his absence 
the business at Pittsfield was mismanaged, 
causing him hea\'y losses, and he relin- 
cp.iished his interest in the Lincoln store. 
Mr. Hyde then resumed his former vocation, 
that of school-teaching, and for nineteen 
years had charge of the fourth ward school 
of Lincoln. He was connected with that 
profession for over fift\-two vears, and was 
ever regarded as a most successful teacher. 
For twenty years he has kept the books of 
Adam Denger, a grocer of Lincoln, and is 
also connected with the Lincoln Dail\- and 
Seini-\\'eekly Courier. 

In 1S41 Mr. Hyde was united in mar- 
riage with ]\Iiss Eliza Seeley, of Pike 
county, a daughter of James Seeley, and to 
them were born four children: ^^'illiam H., 
who married Jennie Temple and resides in 
Pike county, James S., a veteran of the 
Civil war and a farmer of Pike coimtv. who 
died in iqoo: Mary S., wife of Dr. L. C. 
Pulliam, of Crowley, Louisiana : and Ellen, 
who died young. The mother of these 
children died in 1851, and for his second 
wife Mr. Hyde married Miss Hattie L. 
Blake, also of Barry, Pike county, a daugh- 



ter of Ephraim Blake, the wedding being 
celebrated in October, 1852. By this union 
were born three children, namely: Clara, 
who died in childhood; Frank R., a resident 
of Siou.x Falls, South Dakota, and state 
agent for the Bradstreet Commercial 
Agency: and Charles L., who is living in 
Pierre, South Dakota, and is interested in 
real estate and gold and silver mining. 

In 1873 Mr. Hyde established a night 
commercial school in Lincoln for the I)en- 
efit of young business men. In 1871 and 
1874 he carefully prepared and published 
directories of the cit}', and also prepared a | 
work entitled The Science of Accounts, a I 
treatise of more than ordinary merit, which, i 
if used practically, will save labor and facil- , 
itate the record of commercial transactions. 

Politically Mr. Hyde was originally an 
old-line A\'hig, and \'oted for General Har- . 
rison in 1836 and 1840. In 1856 he sup- ', 
ported James Buchanan for the presidency, 
and has voted for every Democratic candi- 
date for that office since that time. While 
a resident of Pike county he was elected ' 
county su]jerintendent of schools, and effi- 
ciently filled that office for three years, dur- 
ing which time he did much to elevate the 
schools of the county. He also ser\'ed as 
deputy assessor four years in that cfumty, 
and since coming to Lincoln has been city 
assessor and deputy township assessor. In 
iSCij he was ap])ointed a member of the 
school board of Lincoln, which position he 
filled two years, and was also a member of 
the committee to visit schools. In 1895 ^^^ 
was appointed cit}- collector, and in April, 
1899, was elected city treasurer. He is also 
serving as city comptroller, and his official 
duties have always been most faithfully 
and satisfactorily performed. Mr. Hyde 
is to-day the oldest INIason in Logan county, 
having joined that order in 1845. .\1- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



241 



though now eighty-eight years of age, he is 
still in possession of all his faculties, and 
appears much younger. He has led an up- 
right, honorable and useful life, and is held 
in the highest regard by all who know him. 



JOHN W. LOA^ELAXD. 

The Loveland family of which our sub- 
ject, John \\\ Loveland, is a worthy repre- 
sentati\e, came to America from England 
as far back as 1614 and located in Xew 
England. The family has not been a very 
numerous one, its records telling of but two 
hundred l)ranches of the family tree in the 
United States. The members of this fam- 
ily have been true and loyal citizens, the 
great-grandfather Loveland bearing a com- 
mission as colonel in the Re\'olutionary 
war and the grandfather, Ambrose Love- 
land, lea\ing a record for gallantry as a 
captain in the war of 18 12. The former 
died in ^Massachusetts, at the age of eighty- 
si.x years. 

John P. Loveland, the father of our sub- 
ject, followed an agricultural life and moved 
from ^Massachusetts to Illinois in 1863. set- 
tling in De Kalb county. In 1871 he went 
to X'ebraska, where his death occurred in 
1896, at the age of seventy-seven years. He 
married [Maria Inghram, who was born in 
Massachusetts, and is now a resident of 
Chester, Nebraska, bearing her seventy-four 
years with ease. 

The famil}- burn to John P. Loveland 
and wife consisted of five sons and three 
daughters, all of whom lived to maturit}', 
their names now representing good and 
worthy citizens through this and other 
states. The children of these parents were : 
Lewis C, a contractor and builder, living in 



Aurora, Illinois; Franklin E., also a builder, 
residing in Aurora; Eliza J., who married 
H. Perry and died in Nebraska, at the age 
of twenty-three years; John \\'., who is the 
subject of this biography; James \\'., who is 
a farmer in the state of Arkansas ; Alary M., 
who married G. C. \Mhte, an engineer on 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, residing in 
Garrett, Indiana ; Wells U., who is a farmer 
in Wyoming; and Nellie I., wife of Norman 
Stafford, who li\es in Kansas, near Chester, 
Nebraska. All of this family were afforded 
excellent educational advantages, the older 
members in [Massachusetts and the younger 
ones in Illinois, while the two youngest at- 
tended school in Nebraska. During his en- 
tire life Mr. Loveland was interested in edu- 
cational matters. His wife had been edu- 
cated for the profession of teaching, and it 
was a matter of the deepest concern with 
both of them that their children should have 
e\-erv possible advantage. In religion they 
were united in their adherence to the Chris- 
tian church, and in political matters Mr. 
Loveland advocated the principles of the 
Republican party. 

John \y. Loveland needs no introduc- 
tion to the citizens of Illinois, as his position 
as architect and government contractor and 
builder has made his name a familiar one to 
the public. The birth of Mr. Loveland oc- 
curred in IMidillefield, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts, March 6, 1854, and he was 
nine years old when the family removed to 
Illinois. In this state he attended school 
until he was fifteen years old, leaving his 
books at that time to learn the carpenter's 
trade, for which he had a natural aptitude. 
His unusual skill enabled him to begin con- 
tracting when he was not more than eight- 
een years (.>]d, and he worked by the day, as 
a journeyman, for the following five years, 
in the meantime carefully pursuing archi- 



242 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tectural studies. For a time he worked at 
his trade in Aurora, IlHnois, and througli 
De Kalb county many oi the residences and 
buildings of various kinds still testify to his 
artistic taste and the solidity of his work. 

In 1892 he was called to Lincoln, Illi- 
nois, to take the position of foreman of the 
corps of government builders and contract- 
ors, by the appointment of the governor, and 
for five years he filled that position with the 
greatest ability, this resulting in his appoint- 
ment in 1897 as chief of the corps of con- 
tractors at the Home for Feeble Minded 
Children. Since that time the imposing 
structure which is the present home for 
those unfortunates, as well as the industrial 
building on the state grounds, stand as last- 
ing monuments to his architectural design- 
ing as well as to his great knowledge of the 
art (.if construction. 

Mr. Loveland was married Se])tember 
6, 1882, in Aurora, Illinois, to Miss Isa 
Kinnaird, who was born in Little Rock, Illi- 
nois, in i860, and who was a daughter of 
James Kinnaird. The latter was a gallant 
soldier in the Civil war, who gave u]) his 
life for his country. The beloved mother 
of Mrs. Loveland is a daughter of Lord 
Hunter, a nobleman of Scotland. She has 
reached the age of se\enty-two years, and 
makes her home with her daughter. Mrs. 
Lo\-eland was well educated in the schools 
of Little Rock, and is a lad\- of culture and 
refinement. To Mr. and Mrs. Loveland 
one daughter has been born, Jean, whose 
liirth occurred in October, 1889. She is 
now a student in the public school in Lin- 
coln. 

.Vlthougb Mr. Loveland has always been 
a Republican, his life has been too busy to 
enable him to accejit office of a political na- 
ture. The religious connection of the fam- 
'ilv is with thei Cumbejdand Presbyterian 



church, where they are valued for their true 
Christian characters. Socially Mr. Love- 
land is popular in Camp No. 109, M. W. A., 
in which he has held official position; also 
in the Knights of Pjlihias order; in the Pio- 
neer Reserve Association, of wliich he is 
vice-president ; and in the Royal Neighbors, 
of which Mrs. Loveland is also a member. 
The prosperity which has come to Mr. 
Loveland is due to his own efiforts. He is 
now the owner of valuable property in Lin- 
coln, and designs to make this city his per- 
manent home, having a modern residence in 
the course of erection. Self-made, he is 
one of the representative men of this city, 
and much of its business activity, as well as 
structural attractiveness, is due to his efiforts. 



JOHN H. WTLLMERT. 

In studying the lives and characters of 
prominent men we are naturally led to in- 
cjuire into the secret of their success and the • 
motives that prompted their action. Suc- 
cess is a question of genius as held by 
many, but is it not rather a matter of ex- 
perience and sound judgment? When we 
trace the career oi those who stand highest 
in ]nil)lic esteem we find in nearly every case 
that they are those who have risen gradually, 
fighting their way in the face of all opposi- 
tion. Self-reliance, conscientiousness, en- 
ergy, honesty, these are the traits of char- 
acter that ensure the highest emoluments 
and greatest success. To these we may at- 
tribute the success that has crowned the ef- 
forts of the man whose name stands at the 
head of this review. 

Our subject was one of fi\'e children who 
were born to Frederick and Catherine ( Rav- 
ensburg) \\'illmert. The father was a na- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



243 



tive of Germany and was reared on a farm, 
wliere lie assisted his fatlier in tlie many 
duties cif that calhng until he grew to man- 
hood, when he engaged for himself in agri- 
cultural pursuits, which he followed with 
more than ordinary success up to the date 
of his death, which occurred in i860. His 
widow and five children survive him. Our 
subject was about one and a half years of 
age at the time of his father's death. The 
mother was also a native of Germany, and 
recei\'ed a good education at the place of 
her birth. In 1891 she left her native 
countrv to join her son, John H. 

In Xovember, 187.2, our subject engaged 
passage on a steamer and embarked for the 
United States, landing in the city of New- 
York, where he remained for a short time, 
looking for work, and, hearing of the op- 
portunities afforded young men of pluck 
and energy in the far west, he started for 
Illinois, and arrived in Lincoln, November 
16, 1S72. He at once found work as a 
hand on one of the farms about four miles 
south of the city, where he continued for 
five years. By close attention to his duties 
and by energy and perseverance and eco- 
nomical habits he in a short time was en- 
aljjed to purchase one hundred and eighteen 
acres of land in Eminence township, on sec- 
tion 26, and here he made many improve- 
ments and a home for himself, on which he 
resided until the year 1886, engaging in 
general farming and stock raising to some 
extent. He was successful in all of his 
undertakings and had the confidence of all 
who knew him, as an upright and fair deal- 
ing man. In the year last named he pur- 
chased a farm of one hundred acres also on 
section 26, Eminence township, which is 
now under a high state of culti\-ation and 
on which he at ])resent resides. From time 
to time he has added to this property until 



at this date he is the owner of four hundred 
and se\enteen acres of rich and fertile farm- 



nu 



land, (in sections 25, 26 and 36. 



Air. Willmert was united in marriage, on 
the loth day of June, 1880, with Miss Caro- 
line Bock, daughter of the late Adam Bock, 
of Lincoln, Illinois, who was one of the rep- 
J'esentative citizens of Logan county, his 
death occurring in August, 1881. To our 
subject and his wife were born nine chil- 
dren, of whom eight are still lixing, namely: 
Frederick W. w-as born June 20, 1881 ; 
Aliiinie K. was born December i, 1883; 
Alary D. was born April 11, 1886; John H. 
was born Alarch 14, 1888; George A. was 
born Jul}- 2^. 1891 ; Caroline, named after 
her mother, was burn Alarch 14, 1894, and 
died (in the 30th of the next May; Martha 
was born August 9, 1895: and Catherine, 
named after her grandmother, was born on 
the 8th of February, 1898; and Albert Carl 
H. was born April 14, 1901. All of the chil- 
dren reside at home with their parents, and 
are members of the Evangelical church. • 

Air. \\'illmert is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd FelU.iws and also> of 
the Alodern Woodmen of America. In 
politics he is a Republican, and at the pres- 
ent time holds the position of road commis- 
sioner of Eminence township, which office 
he has held for three years. He also' held 
the position (jf school director for nine 
years. While ne\'er taking a very active 
part in politics, he has always been a pub- 
lic-spirited man and an advocate for all that 
tends to advance and improve the interests 
of the cduimunit}' in which he lives, and es- 
pecially has he been interested in educational 
matters, and is giving his children every 
O])portunity that the schools of the county 
afford. One of the great disa(I\-antages 
with which he had to contend was his lack 
of knowledge of the English language, yet 



244 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he was well versed in the common branches 
of study in his own language. While not 
numbered among the pioneers of the county, 
he has given thirty of the best years of his 
life to its growth and development, and in 
e\-erv enterprise which has a tendency for 
the public good he is willing to give of his 
time and means. He is an enterprising and 
successful farmer, and is worthy of the 
esteem in which he is held. 



JOHX R. BARNETT, M. D. 

The world has little use fi:>r the misan- 
thrope. The universal truth of brother- 
hood is widely recognized, also that he 
serves God best who serves his fellowmen. 
There is ncj profession or line of business 
that calls for greater self-sacritice or more 
devoted attention than the medical profes- 
sion, and the successful physician is he, who 
through love for his fellowmen gives his 
time and attention to the relief of human 
suffering. Dr. Barnett is an able represent- 
ative of this noble calling, and to-day occu- 
pies the responsible position of assistant 
superintendent and governing physician of 
the Illinois Asylum for Feeble ]Minded Chil- 
dren at Lincoln. 

The Doctor was born in W'illiamstuwn, 
Kentucky, February 14, 1852, a son of 
Thomas A. and Amarias (Vance) Barnett, 
also natives of that state. In 1856 the fa- 
ther brought his family to Logan county, 
Illinois, but after residing here fi^r some 
vears remox-ed to Decatur county, Indiana, 
where he f(_>lli>we<l farming for a time. He 
subsecjuently made his home in Xiantic, Illi- 
nois, and from there came to Latham, Logan 
county. 

Reared on a farm. Dr. Barnett earlv be- 



came familiar with agricultural pursuits, and 
for some )'ears worked bv the month as a 
farm hand. His literary educatitjn was ob- 
taineil in the common schools of this county 
and at Lincoln University, and for four 
}-ears he engaged in school teaching. While 
thus employed at ■ JMiddletoun, he com- 
menced reading medicine with Dr. \\'. C. 
Maull as preceptor, anil later entered Rush 
Medical College, Chicago, from which he 
was graduated February 21, 1881, with the 
degree of Doctor of Medicine. In June of 
that }-ear he located at Hartsburg. where he 
succeeded Dr. L. Loda, and built up a lucra- 
tive practice. In 1897 he was appointed as- 
sistant superintendent anil placed in charge 
of the medical department of the Illinois 
Asylum for Feeble Minded Children, and in 
June, 1 90 1, was re-appointed to the same po- 
sition under the administration of Governor 
Yates, for a term of four years, which fact 
plainly indicates the efficient manner in which 
he has tilled the office. 

Dr. Barnett has been twice married. In 
1879 he wedded Miss Mary Reed, a 
daughter of Dr. T. M. Reed, of Mid- 
town, who died three months after their 
marriage, and in January, 1884, he married 
Miss Mary Morris, of Columbus Grove, 
Ohio. By this union three children have 
l>een born, namely: Clarence <M.. now at- 
tending the Lincoln high school : John Rus- 
sell,- who died at the age of two years ; and 
Robert V., who was born January 24, 1892. 
In his political views Dr. Barnett is a 
pronounced Republican, and has been identi- 
fied with the Repul)lican organization of 
Logan county for twenty-five years. He is 
no)V a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church O'f Lincoln, and for some time was 
superintendent of the Sunday-school while a 
resident of Hartsburg. Socially the Doctor 
affiliates with the Masonic fraternitv, the In- 




DR. J. R. BARNETT. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



247 



dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen, and has 
represented the last-named order in the 
grand lodge of the state eighteen years. 
He has heen identified with the Pioneer Re- 
serve Association, a fraternal insurance so- 
ciety of Bloomington. Illinois, since its or- 
ganization, heing chairman of the committee 
Avhich wrote the new ritual and a memher 
of the committee \\liicli revised tlie constitu- 
tion and hy-laws. He is now a member of 
the board of directors and supreme medical 
director ijf the order. For se\'eral vears Dr. 
Barnett was a memlier of the corps of sur- 
geons of the Per>ria. Decatur & Evansville 
Railroad ; is a meml)er of the Brainard Dis- 
trict Aledical Society ; the Illinois State Med- 
ical Society ; the Association of Medical Offi- 
cers of American Institutions for the Feeble 
JMinded ; and the National Association of 
Assistant Surgeons for the Insane. He has 
that loA'e for and de\'otion to- his profession 
SO' necessary to success, and has won a prom- 
inent place amung the ablest representati\-es 
of the medical fraternitv in the state. 



AUGUST P. KUEMMEL. 

It is astonishing to witness the success of 
young men wln) have emigrated to America 
without capital and from a position of com- 
parative obscurity have worked their way 
upward to a position of prominence. The 
readiness with which they adajjt themselves 
to circumstances and take advantage of op- 
portunities offered brings to them success 
and wins them a place among the leading 
men of the communit\' in which the\' reside. 
Prominent among the citizens that Germany 
has furnished to this county is August P. 
Kuemmel, of Lincoln, who is now serving 
as circuit clerk and recorder. 

14 



He was b(irn in Wurtemljurg, Germany. 
I in the 4th I if July, 1854, and is a son of 
Bernhard and Catherine Kuemmel. His 
boyhood and youth were passed in his native' 
city, where he attended school for some time, 
and for four years was a student at Lud- 
wigsburg Academy. Resolved to try his 
fortune in the L'nited States, he crossed the 
Atlantic in 1S70 and landed in New York, 
where he spent one year. He then came to 
Lincoln, Illinois, and found employment in 
grcicery store of John A. Lutz. In 1872 he 
accepted a pi^sitiim as copyist in the office of 
Fred C. Koehnle, then circuit clerk and re- 
corder, and was subsequently assistant to 
/vndrew McGalliard for two years. 

In 1S76 Mr. Kuemmel returnetl on a 
\isit to his old home in Germany, but the 
following year we again find him in Lincoln, 
where, in the employ of H. ^^'. Dana, he was 
sucessfully engaged in the abstract business 
a number of years. In 1884 he was ap- 
pointed deputy circuit clerk and recorder un- 
der E. F. L. Rautenberg, and \\hen that 
gentleman retired from office in 1892, our 
subject was elected his successor. Being 
well qualified tO' fill the office, he discharged 
its duties so acceptably, that he was re-elected 
in 1896 and again in 1900, his present term 
not expiring until 1904. 

Mr. Kuemmel was married in Febru- 
ary, 1885, to Miss Agnes Ray. of Lincoln. 
He takes cpiite an active interest in civic so- 
cieties, and is an honored member of the 
Knights of Pythias, of which he is now past 
chancellor; the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and served as noble grand of Mo- 
zart Lodge, No. 345, and is at present a rep- 
resentati\'e to the grand lodge ; the National 
Union : and the Modern Woodmen of .\mer- 
ica. He is one of the most prominent 
Democrats in the county, and e.xerts con- 
siderable interest in political affairs. Few 



248 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



oi our foreign Iiorn citizens are more loyal 
in their devotion to this, the land of their 
adoi)tion. than he has been fur the period of 
his residence here, over thirty years. In 
1891 he again returned to Germany on a 
\isit, but is well content to make America 
his home. 



< » » 



MASKEL LEE, ^I. D. 

Prominent among the jjhysicians of At- 
lanta is numbered Maskel Lee, who for the 
past thirteen years has gi\en his time and 
closest attention to those who ha\e needed 
his care. He is one of nine children who 
were born to William and Mary C. ( Dock- 
um) Lee. The father was in his earlier da}S 
a very successful farmer of Madison count)-, 
Ohio, but in the year 1850 he moved to 
Logan count\-, Illinois, where he died June 
13, 1886. The mother died in April, 1892. 
He was a son of John and Susanna (Rich- 
ards ) Lee, the grandfather being originally 
from England. 

Our subject was born in Logan county, 
Illinois, October 17, 1855. Here he grew 
to manhood, getting his education in the 
common schools, but in 1873 he began the 
study of his profession and in the year of 
1886 he entered the Rush Medical College 
at Chicago, where he completed the course, 
graduating in 1888. Immediately upon re- 
ceiving his tliploma he returned to his place 
of birth, his present hi-ime, and took up tlie 
])ractice of his profession, and has continued 
here w itli marked success. Dr. Lee has also 
taken a special course in the disease of the 
eye and ear under the directions of Profes- 
sors Holmes and Colburn, of Chicago, and 
of the throat under Professor Ingalls. 

He was united in marriage August 31, 
1880, to Miss Ruth Shipley, a daughter of 



Samuel Shipley, of Ohio. Tiiis union was 
blessed with tiiree sons,' as follows ; Don, 
Jean and Burch. 

P(ilitically Dr. Lee is a Repul:)lican and 
while not a liitter jiartisan, has yet an abid- 
ing faith in tlie principles of his party. He 
is a member of the Masonic order, Atlanta 
Lodge, No. 165. A. F. & A. M. ; Atlanta 
Chapter, No. 188, R. A. M., and Constan- 
tine Commandery. Xo. 51, of Lincoln, and 
also the Mahomet Temple of the JVIystic 
Shrine at Peoria. The Doctor is past mas- 
ter of the blue lodge and is at present high 
priest of the chapter. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He has ser\ed two years as a mem- 
l)er of the cit\- council ; for the ])ast ten 
^■ears has been a member of the school 
boartl and at present holds the <.ifhce of pres- 
ident. 

The Doctor, who is. vet in the priiue ijf 
life, is highly esteemed liy all who know 
him. and stands well among the members 
of his profession. He is energetic, enter- 
[jrising and enthusiastic, and just such a 
citizen as gi\es character to the comnumitv- 



RICHARD P. XALL. 

There is no resident of Hartsijurg who 
has so long resided liere as Richard P. Nail, 
the well known and popular proprietor of 
the Xall House. He has been closely iden- 
tified with the interests of the town and its 
upbuilding, and he dates his residence in 
Logan county since 18O4. His birth oc- 
curred in Ohio county. Kentuck}-. June 15, 
1838. his i^arents being Larcan and Julia 
(Griftin) Xall. the former a native of Ken- 
tucky and the latter of Virginia. The fa- 
ther spent the greater part of his life in 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



249 



tlie Blue Grass state and there conducted a 
hotel and also carried on a general store. 
He likewise gave considerable attention to 
farming and was one of the leading tobacco 
raisers in that section of the state. In 1863 
he remo\'ed from Kentucky to West Lin- 
coln township. Logan county, Illinois, and 
purchased a farm, but renting the land, he 
took up his abode in the city of Lincoln, 
where, in partnership with his son Richard, 
he was engaged in the dry goods and 
grocery business for a number of years. 
Subsequently he put aside business cares 
and lived a retired life in Lincoln until 
called to the home bevDud. The mother of 
our subject died in Kentuck\'. They were 
the parents of several children, but only two 
are now living — Richard P. and Alfred, 
who makes his home in Kentuckv. After 
the death of his first wife the father mar- 
ried Catherine Lewis, who died in Lincoln. 
Three of their children are now living : 
Mary B., who resides in Lincoln; Lem., of 
St. Paul, Minnesota: and Duff, of Chicago, 
Illinois. 

Under the parental roof Richard Xall 
was reared and in the public schools ob- 
tained his education. After arriving at 
years of maturity he chose as a companion 
and helpmate for the journey of life Miss 
Camilla Shanks, of Kentucky, who died a 
number of years later, and their three chil- 
dren have also passed away. For his sec- 
ond wife our subject married Johanna Hille- 
brand, a lady of (jerman lineage, and they 
have four children: Fannie, wife of Elma 
Musgrove. of Hartsburg: Larkin, a black- 
smith of the same town ; Louisa, wife of 
George Shirley, a farmer of Orvil town- 
ship, and Leila Florence, at home. 

In 1864 'Sir. Xall came to Illinois and 
settled upon the farm in W'est Lincoln 
township, Logan county, which his father 



had purchased the previous year. There 
he made his home for about a year, but on 
account of the ill health of his wife he re- 
turned to Kentucky. After spending the 
succeeding year in his native state he came 
again to Illinois, taking up his abode in the 
city of Lincoln, where he engaged in the 
grocery business with his father for two 
years. He then sold out and returned to 
Kentucky, where his first wife died. When 
fi\-e years had passed he again came to 
Logan county, establishing his home in 
Hartsburg when the village was first start- 
ed. He is the only one now living here that 
resided in Hart.sburg at the time. He first 
engaged in general merchandising, which 
he followed for a few years and was then 
appointed postmaster, filling that position 
during a part of both of President Cleve- 
land's administrations. After his retire- 
ment from office Mv. Xall and his wife be- 
gan keeping boarders, and the X^all House 
has always found favor with the public on 
account of the excellent table and the con- 
sideration which is paid to the welfare and 
comfort of the guests. Mr. Xall also owns 
se\-eral acres of land adjoining his home 
and is e.xtensively engaged in raising pota- 
toes, for which he has gained a wide repu- 
tation. His property interests alscj include 
several building lots in Hartsburg. He is 
also agent for the firm of Emmons & Com- 
oany, of Xewark, Xew Jersey, and does a 
large nursery business. 

In Lis political views he is a stalwart 
Democrat, and three times he has been elect- 
ed to the office of police magistrate, but 
only once has he consented to ser\-e. He 
has also held the position of town marshal 
and other minor offices. Socially he is con- 
nected with the .\ncient Order of United 
Workmen of Hartsburg, and both he and 
his wife ajre consistent members of the 



250 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Cliristiaii clmrcli of Hartsburg, in wliicli 
lie is iidw sei"\in^' as trustee. In his busi- 
ness affairs lie has prospi-red. for his efforts 
have been carefuUy directed and his energy 
has brouplit to him success. 



ij'X'i i.rcws (ii^:()\'F.s. 

For se\-erai _\'ears the subject of this 
-sketcli was an iionored resident of Logan 
county. He was a native of Oliio, born on 
the 19th of June. 1S39, and was a .son of 
Thomas G. and Ehzalietli (Summers) 
Groves. His father was Ijorn in Virginia, 
in 1782, and wlien seventeen years of age re- 
niiAcd to ()liio, where lie remained luitil 
1855, and tiien came to llhnois, in tlie mean- 
time becoming a very e.xtensive and success- 
ful farmer, ffe died in 1880, at the e.Ktreme 
old age of ninety-one years. 

During his boyhood our subject attended 
the common schools, and after rccei\ing a 
good i)ractical educatinn turned his attention 
to agricultural pursuits. In 1855 he came 
to DcW'itt countv. Illinois, where he re- 
mained some lime. Later he came to Logan 
county and followed farming initil failing 
health necessitated his retirement from that 
occupation, and he then engaged in the 
butcher business almul two years. With the 
lioi)e of benefitting his health he reninxed to 
Iowa in 1878, but there died two years later, 
honored and respected by all who knew him. 

.\s a ciimpanion and helpmate mi life's 
journey .Mr. (iroves chose Miss Elizabeth 
A. Curry, and their wedding was celebrated 
in September 26, 1867. She is a native of 
Ohio, and a daughter of Andrew (_"urr\-, who 
was originally from I'enns)-lvania, ami from 
there remo\ed to the Buckeye state. I\[r. 
and Mrs. Groves became the parents of four 



children, namely : Harry M., who resides in 
Chicago: Lester L. and Charles E., who are 
all married; and b'raiik L., wlm died in in- 
fancy. Lester L. and his wife live with his 
mother in .\tlanta. 

During the dark days of the Civil war, 
Mr. (iro\es manifested his loyalty and love 
of country by his ser\-ice in the Union armv, 
and he remained at the front until hostilities 
ceased, when he was honorably discharged. 
Socially he was a member of the Masonic 
fraternit}-, and religiously was a member of 
the Alethodist church. In all of the rela- 
tiiins ol life he w;is fnund true to e\er\- trust 
reposed in him whether public or private, and 
commanded the respect ruid confidence of 
all with whom he came in ci intact. 



ADAM BOCK. 



^lany of the most enterprising and pros- 
perous citizens of Logan countv ha\e come 
from the land be\ond the sea, and here tliev 
have made for tliemsel\es and family a com- 
fortable home. Prominent among these is 
numbered the subject of this sketch, lie 
was bcirti in (iernian\- tm the 5tli of ]anuar\-. 
1 85 1, and there grew to manhood, being 
nineteen years of age when he came to tlie 
I'nited States with his father. John .\. I'mck. 
a native of the fatherland. His ji.aternal 
grandparents. Henry and .^nnie ( Yeagell ) 
]'>ock, spent their entire lives in Germany, 
the former dying in i83_^. and the latter in 
1873. B\- occupation he was a farmer. 

John .\. Biock, the father of onr subject. 
\\as liiirn I'ebruarv 14. 1814. and received a 
good education iir the schools of his native 
land. During his boyluMKl and youth he 
worked with his father upon the home farm 
and then engaged in farming for himself. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



On tlie 1st of June, 1870, he and his family 
sailed for the new world and landed in Balti- 
more, whence tliev proceeded to Ohio, where 
tliev made their home for a )'ear and a half. 
On the expiration of that time he came to 
Logan ciinntv. Illinois, and first located in 
Elkhart, hut in 1877 removed to Lawndale, 
where he resided with ow suhject, until 
called to his final rest .August 12, 1881. His 
wife died in the old country in 1868. Her 
maiden name was Reagel and her people 
were farmers. 

The early education of our suljject was 
ai'(iuire<l in the schools of Germany. After 
the family came to Illinois, he aided his fa- 
ther in the operation of a farm near FJkhart 
until 1877, when he rented a tract oi land at 
Lawndale and commenced farming' on his 
own account, working in that way f<jr thir- 
teen years. Being industrious and economi- 
cal, he met with good success and in 1891 
was ahle ti) purchase a farm, feeing now the 
])ossessor of a valuable and well-improved 
farm of three hundred and si.xty acres on sec- 
tions 10 and II, Oran township. He is an 
energetic and reliable l)usiness man who car- 
ries forward to successful com])letion what- 
e\er he undertakes. 

On the 22d of Alarch. 1877. Mr. Bock 
was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta 
L. Willmert, a daughter of Frederick \\'ill- 
mert, of Germany, and a sister of J. H. W'ill- 
mert. who married our subject's sister. Airs. 
Bock, who was a most estimaljle woman, be- 
lo\ed by all who knew her, died December 
18, 1899, leaving four children, namely: J. 
Henry, born February 2~, 1878; Maria C, 
born Alay 11, 1880: Catherine Louisa Marie, 
born October i, 1881 : and John .\dam, born 
January 19, 1884. All these children live 
at home. John .\dam was named for his 
his grandfather. The famil\- are memliers 
of St. John's Evangelical church of Lincoln, 



and are highly respected and esteemed by all 
who know them. In his political views Mr. 
Bock is a strong Democrat, but he has never 
sought of^cial h<jnors, desiring rather to 
give his undivided attention to his business 
interests. He is one of Oran township's 
wealthiest and most preeminent farmers, as 
well as one of its most public-spirited and 



PROFESSOR W. P. RUSSELL. 

Prominent among the able corps of in- 
structors at Lincoln College of the James 
Millikin University, Lincoln, Illinois, is Pro- 
fes.sor William Polk Russell, who holds the 
chair of mathematics. He is a native of 
Alabama, born in Gaylesville. December 29, 
1863. and is a son of Rev. S. L. and Mar- 
garet (Griffitts) Russell, also natives of that 
state. His paternal grandparents were Rev. 
Samuel R. and Xancy (Gamble) Russell. 
The grandfather was a minister of the Cum- 
berland Presb}-terian church, as was also our 
subject's father, who ranked as one of the 
best preachers in his section of the countrv. 
He also stiiod high as an educator, Ijeing for 
many years at the iiead of what was known 
as the Gaylesville high school, which was at 
that time the leading seminary in northern 
Alabama. It would be e.xceedingly hard to 
estimate his influence for good 1x>th in the 
school room and in the pulpit. His entire 
life was si)ent in the south, \\here he died 
October 7, 1895, honored and respected by 
all who knew him. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather was Lorenzo Dow Griflitts, a 
\'irginian by birth. 

Professor Russell, of this review, passed 
the first twenty-five years of his life in his 
native state, and acquired his early educa- 



252 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tion in his fatlier's private school, wliere he 
was graduated at the age of fifteen, being 
then prepared to enter the junior dass of 
Cumberland Unixersity at Lebanon, Ten- 
nessee. Instead of entering college at that 
time, however, he remained at home as in- 
structor in his father's school, teaching sev- 
eral branches, namely : mathematics, Latin, 
Greek, physics and rhetoric, thus showing 
the wide scope of his learning when but a 
mere boy. In 1883 he became a student at 
Cumberland University, where he was grad- 
uated two years later with the degree of A. 
B., and then resumed teaching. 

In 1889 Professor Russell came to Lin- 
coln, Illinois, to accept the chair of mathe- 
matics in Lincoln University, as it was then 
known, and has since remained at that place. 
Although having received several offers of 
better positions, he has sacrificed himself and 
bis ambition to the cause of the Unix'ersity, 
and has done much to advance her interests. 
As a teacher in mathematics he stands sec- 
ond to none, and his ability as a mathemati- 
cian was earlv demonstrated. It was the 
custom in his father's school on examination 
day at the close of the year for the visitors 
present to ask questions. On such an oc- 
casion, our suliject, then only ten years old. 
was called uijon to demonstrate a theorem in 
geometry, and so ably did he do it that the 
onl\- question asked was bv an old school 
teacher, who inquired the boy's age,.lieing 
surprised that a little l>arefoot lad could 
handle so difficult a problem. 

On the 2 1st of June, 1893, Professor 
Russell was united in marriage with Miss 
Rachel C. McGuire. nf Uethany, Illinois, a 
daughter of J, H. and ]\Iary ( Groeltz ) Mc- 
Guire. She was educated at Lincoln Uni- 
versity. The Professor and his wife have 
three children : Smith L., Paul A. and Theo- 
dore S. During his resilience in Lincoln he 



has been an acti\e and prominent member of 
the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in 
which he has serxxd as elder for the past 
eight years, and most of that time has been 
clerk of the official board. He has also 
taught a large class of young men in the 
Sunday school for twelve years. Several 
times he has represented his congregation in 
the Presbytery, and was a member of the 
general asemblv of the Cumberland Presliy- 
terian church which met at Chattanooga, 
Tennessee, in 1900. .Socially he is a mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. 

Professor Russell was a member of the 
party sent out by the Lick Obserx-atory to ob- 
ser\-e the ti.tal eclipse of the sun in May. 
1900, and in Februarv of the following }-ear 
he discovered the new star in Perseus on the 
same night that it was discovered by Pro- 
fessor Anderson, of Edinburg. Scotland, but 
made no announcemet of it outside his own 
classes, and hence it became known as An- 
derson's star. The Professor is an active 
member of the National Educational Asso- 
ciation. In teaching as well as along other 
lines, he has e\'er been an advocate (if pro- 
gress and reform, and is thus identified with 
manv mo\'ements whose purpose is to do 
away with old methods and substitute new 
and better <jnes. Throughout his life he has 
Ijeen actuated by noble, yet practical prin- 
ciples, and he is held in the highest respect 
l)v all who kiiciw him. 



REV. PETER RELXDERS. 

Rev. Peter Reinders, pastor of the Evan- 
gelical Association church of Mt. Pulaski, 
was born in Rhenish Prussia, September 15, 
1827, and is a son of Peter and Gertrude 
(Bruckhaus) Reinders, who were farming 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



253 



people of that country. In 1854 the family 
crossed the broad Atlantic in a sailing vessel, 
and after thirty-eight days upon the water 
landed in New York city. They first lo- 
cated at Beardstown, Illinois, but the fol- 
lowing spring came to Logan county, and 
rented a farm in Mt. Pulaski township, 
which the father operated with the assist- 
ance of his sons. There he died in 1885, 
and his wife in 1875. They had five chil- 
dren, all sons, namely : Gerhardt, who con- 
tracted consumption while ser\'ing in the 
German army and died in his native land at 
the age nf twentv-fnur vears ; Peter, our suli- 
ject ; Henry, who also died in Germany in 
early manhood; and John and Detrich, who 
died in this country. 

The subject of this re\iew attended the 
public schools of Germany for the regularly 
prescriljed time, fmm the age of six to four- 
teen years, and then learned the trade of a 
tinner, at which he served a three years' ap- 
prenticeship. During the following three 
years he was in the Prussian armv. and nn 
the expiration of that time worketl at his 
trade two years. Before leaving Germany 
he was married in A])ril, 1854, to Aliss 
Ophuls, also a native of that country, and a 
daughter of Gerhardt and Saljilla ( Clap- 
dnor) Ophuls. 

Two weeks after their marriage ]\Ir. 
Reinders and his bride came to the United 
States with his parents, and he was engaged 
in farming with his father and brothers in 
Alt. Pulaski township, this county, for two 
years. During the following four }ears he 
was engaged in farming upon his own ac- 
count on rented land, and then purchased 
one hundred acres in that township, which 
lie sold four years later. He next bought 
a fanu of one hun(lre<l and sixty acres in 
Aetna township, and to the improvement 
and cultivation of that place he devoted his 



time and attention until 1896, though he 
has made his home in Alt. Pulaski since dis- 
pensing of his first farm in 1871. He still 
owns a x'aluable farm of two hundred and 
forty acres in Sangamon county, Illinois, 
which is under a high state of cultivation 
and well improved. This place he rents. 

Air. Reinders' first wife died Alarch 10, 
1 81)9, and the following June he married 
Aliss \\'ilhelmina Bollinger, of Alt. Pulaski, 
who was also born in Germany, December 
-7- ^^77 • 'I'l'^l came to the L'nited States in 
1890. Her parents died in the old world. 
Air. Reinders has always affiliated with the 
Rei)ublican party since voting for Abraham 
Lincoln in 1864. At an early age he united 
with the E\-angelical Association, and was 
ordained a minister of that denomination 
by Bishop Escher. of Chicago, in 1876, 
since which time he has been a local 
preacher, having charge of the church at 
Alt. Pulaski. His life is exemplary in all 
respects, and he has ever supported those 
interests which are calculated to uplift and 
Ijenefit humanit_\-. while his own high moral 
worth is (leser\ing (jf the highest com- 
mendation. 



ED\\"ARD J. DITTUS. 

One of the most popular and successful 
}(iung business men of Alt. Pulaski is Ed- 
ward J. Dittus. a dealer in lumber and all 
kinds of building material. He is a native 
of Logan countv, born on a farm in Chester 
township. Alav 5, 1876, and is a son of 
Fretlerick and Sarah ( Hagenbuck ) Dittus. 
His early life was spent upon the home 
farm, and he ac(|uire(l his primary education 
in the^district schools of Chester townshi]). 
Later he attended the Alt. Pulaski high 
school, and in 1894 took a commercial 
course in both German and English at the 



!54 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



W'altlier Coniniercial College, St. Louis. 
]\lissoiiri, where he was i^raduated the fol- 
lowiiii;' year. 

Returning to his home in Mt. I'ulaski, 
he coinnieneed elerUing lor C D. Streeter. 
a lumber dealer, the following rear, and in 
Jannarw 181)7, ''ought an interest in the 
Ijusiness. which was then conducted under 
the firm name of Streeter & Hittus until 
Jauuarx", iSqS, when his p.irtner sold out 
to W, F, Stoll. and the name was changed 
to Dittus & Stoll. This partnership lasted 
until January, n)Oi. when Mr. Dittus 
bought out Mr. Stoll and has since been 
alone in Inisiness. lie deals in hard and 
soft lumber, lath, shingles, ceiuent ami plas- 
ter: in fact, all kinds of building material, 
and enjoys a goo^l trade, \\hich is constantly 
increasing. The business of which he is 
now^ sole l)ropriet^n• was established by Sny- 
der Brothers in 1881, Mr. Dittus is also 
interested in the breeding of tine horses. 
and is the owner of the stallion Hob Til- 
ton, which was bred at Athens, Illinois. b\- 
J. H. Kincaiil, who is well known by horse- 
men throughout the state, 

Mr. Dittus was married, June 20. U)00, 
to Miss Marv Werth, of Lincoln, Illinois, 
a daughter i,<\ John and Louise Werth. 
She was reared and educated in this countv. 
and by her marriage has become the mother 
of a little daughter, Ruth Louise. ^Ir. and 
!Mrs, Dittus are members of the First Luth- 
eran church of Mt, Pulaski, and are highly 
respected and esteemed by all wh.o know 
them. 



FREDERICK C. \V. KOEHXLE. 

Frederick- C. \\'. Koehnle. ex-circuit 
clerk and laud agent for the tirni of Koehnle 
& Trapp. of Lincoln, as well as president of 
the Geriuan- American National P>ank, of 



which he was the ]>rincipal organizer, is a 
native of Cermany, born January 4, 1837, 
in Esslingen, a large luaiuifactnring city 
containing the governiuent railroad shops, 
near Stuttgart, the capital of W'urteniburg, 
His father, Francis Jo.se])h Kcrehnle, was 
then in the militar\' serxice, Init soon after- 
ward entered the civil service of the govern- 
iuent, holding an oflice similar in duties to 
our sheriff and jailor*. 

After rccei\ing the tisual education of the 
German youth at Boeblingen, then the resi- 
dence of his parents. ^Fr. Koehnle, of this re- 
\iew, began the study of law and regiiue, or 
political ecoiioinw which he continued until 
the death of his father, in 1853. He then 
concluded to seek his fortune in America, 
and tni coming to this conntrv spent a short 
time in Xew Jersey, whence he reiuoved to 
Potts\ille. Peiuisyhania, where, owing to a 
general dei)ression in business, it was impos- 
sible to obtain a suitalile situation. Being 
determined to succectl and willing to engage 
in any honorable employiuent. he worked for 
a short time in the coal mines. 

In 1855 Mr. Koehnle came to Mt. Pulas- 
ki, Logan county, Illinois, and worked, sepa- 
rateK', within a few months, on a fariu, in a 
brickxard, and as a clerk in a store. In Oc- 
tober of the same }ear he was eiuployed to 
write in the oltice of Samuel Emiuitt, circuit 
clerk, and in Jainiary, 1856, removed with 
the county seat to Lincoln. From the fol- 
lowing .Vovember uiUil 1864 he served as 
deputy circuit clerk under the late Joseph 
C. W'elister, and was then hiiuself elected cir- 
cuit clerk of Logan county for a term of four 
years, and. at the expiration oi that period 
re-elected by nearly one thousand luajority — 
about four hundred aboxe the party ticket — 
the largest majority ever olitained b\- a can- 
diilate for anv ottice in this count\". and he 
ser\ed until Xo\eiuber, 187,2. 




F. C. W. KOEHNLE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



257 



On the 1st of September. 1854, ]\Ir. 
Kbelmle was united in marriage with i\l\ss 
Louise C. Orthwein. a sister of tlie Ortli- 
wein Brothers, of St. Louis, Missouri. She 
was Ijnrn at Kirchlierg, near ]Marbach 
(Schiller's liirtliplace), \\'urtem1iurg, Ger- 
man}-. Unto Mr. and I\Irs. Koelmle were 
born tlie following children: Frederick C 
born May 19, 1855, is now with Koehnle & 
Trapp. of Lincoln. Oscar, born July ^9, 
1856. became an educated pharmacist, and 
died at Ocala. Florida. June 25, 1S88. lea\- 
ing one daughter, Emma C. who^ is now liv- 
ing with her mother in St. L(iuis. Amelia 
married L. C. Schwerdtfeger, and died Au- 
gust 8, 1897. Anna is the wife of Harry 
A. Houser. cashier of the S. T. Bittings Bank 
of Carlsliad, Xew ]\Iexico. William C. died 
February 26, 1895. Louise died at Los 
Angeles, California, December 13. 1896. 

In 1870 Mr. Koehnle left with his fam- 
ily for (iermany to visit relatives, and ar- 
ri\-ed in the city of Stuttgart two weeks be- 
fore France declared war against Germany, 
and saw the enthusiastic uprising of a whole 
nation. After the outljreak of the war he 
could not depart until the German troops 
gainetl decisive victories on the soil of 
France, and then could not take his family 
on account of the fatiguing journey they 
would necessarily have to make. After seeing 
the terrible effects of the gigantic war, in the 
returned dead and wounded soldiers and 
prisoners, he left his family in Stuttgart, 
sent his children to school, and returned to 
America. The only port in Europe accessi- 
ble from Germanv to America at that time 
was Li\-eq>ool, and to go there he was 
obliged to travel on the Rhine through the 
Netherlands to Rotterdam, that lieing the 
onl\- outlet; from there to Grimsby, Eng- 
land : and from Oueenstown, Ireland, to 
Boston. The latter voyage was made on a 



Cunard steamer and lasted eighteen days. 
]Mr. Kc)ehn!e was much exposed to- the 
weather and encountered fearful st'irms. On 
his arrival in Boston his constitution was so 
completely broken down tliat he was unable 
to walk, and he was conveyed by friends to 
the residence of his sister in Jersey City, 
where for t\\-o months he lay upon a bed of 
sickness. During that time he became so low 
that his life was despaired of. On partially 
regaining his strength he returned to his 
western home, where he remained until June 
of the following year without recovering his 
health. He then again went to Germany, 
where, b}- the use of baths at the best bathing 
places, he recovered from his illness, and in 
Septeml)er. 1871. returned with his family to 
Lincriln. Airs. Koehnle died in this city 
February 5, 1876, and he was again married 
October 11. 1883, his second union being 
with ]\Iary A. Zdmmerman. of Philadelphia, 
a sister of Fred Zimmerman, of the firm of 
Zimmerman & Xixon, of Philadelphia. 

In 1862 Mr. Koehnle laid out a portion 
of Lincoln, known as Koehnle"s addition. 
In compan\- with Frederick Trapp, he now 
has the management of the business of Will- 
iam Scully, of Washington, D. C, a native 
of Ireland and an extensive land-holder in 
Illinois, ^Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. 
I\Ir. Koehnle has had many formidable obsta- 
cles to encounter, but by perseverance has 
overcome them. The position he holds among 
his fellow men has been gained through his 
own exertions ; while his financial acquisi- 
tions, which are extensive, are the legitimate 
result of earnest and persevering efforts. 
He is a man of public spirit and enterprise, 
g'cnially disposed, and has many friends. 

Air. Koehnle was an active Republican 
from the time of Fremont's presidential cam- 
])aign until 1872, ^\•llen he Ijecame identifiecl 
with the liberal mo\-ement, for v.hich he was 



258 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a delegate at Cincinnati, hut since then lie 
has voted the Republican ticket. In 1858 
he was appointed by Governor Bissell as 
notary puljlic, to which oftice he has been re- 
appointed by each succeeding governor. He 
was elected a trustee of the town of Lincoln 
in April, i860; school inspector in July, 
1 867 : and alderman for the Second ward of 
the city March 8, 1869. In all of these posi- 
tions he has shown keen perceptibifity anu 
good judgment, and has fulfilled the duties 
<levol\-ing upon him to the entire satisfaction 
of his constituencv. 



ISA.\C SHERWOOD. 

In the village of Hartsburg. now living 
retired in the enjoyment of well merited rest 
from labor, lives Isaac Slierwood, who for 
many years was engaged in farming in Lo- 
gan county. He was born in Maryland. July 
30, 1828. one of tlie seven children of John- 
sey D. and Elizabeth (King) .Sherwood, 
the former a native of Virginia and the lat- 
ter of Maryland. They made their home 
in ]\lar\Iand until 1830, when they remo\-e(l 
to Miami county, Ohio, where the father 
worked at the tailor's trade until 1870. In 
that year he came to Illinois, settling in 
P.eoria ciauit\'. but after a short time he re- 
turned to the Buckeye state and made his 
home with his son in Darke county until 
called to his final rest. His wife has also 
])assed awa)-. Three of their children are 
now living: Isaac, of this review: Eliza- 
beth, who resides with her brother in Harts- 
burg: and Thomas Rufus, a retiretl farmer 
of the same place. 

Isaac Sherwood was educated in the 
common schools and then began to earn his 
own lixelihood. L'pon coming to Or\iI 



township in 1870 he purchased land on sec- 
tion 2- and was there engaged in 
general farming until 1896, when he re- 
mo\ed to Howard county, Indiana, which 
was his place of resi'dence until the spring 
of 1901, at which time he returned tn Lo- 
gan county. He has since lived retired in 
Hartsburg, his sister Elizabeth li\'ing with 
him. He has been three times married. He 
wedded .\nn liliza King, of Peoria county, 
Illinois, who died about 1864, and their two 
children. 01i\e and Ida Alav, ha\e also 
jjassed awa\-. For his second wife he chose 
Mary Bouhrer, also of Peoria county, and 
his third wife was Sallie .\. Hamilton, of 
Jacksonville, Illinois, whom he also sur- 
vives. 

Mr. Sherwood belongs to the Methodist 
Episcopal church at Hartsburg and his life 
has e\-er Ijeen consistent with its teachings. 
His vears ha\-e been <|uietly passed in unin- 
terrupted de\-otion to his work and his duty, 
and though there are no exciting chapters in 
his career there are lessons of industr}- and 
:ionestv which might lie [irofitalily followed 
li\- those who desire to gain success aufl also 
win the merited regard of their fellow men. 



HEXRY T. STRYKER. 

The subject of this sketch has been an 
honored resident of Lincoln, Illinois, since 
i860, and is to-day its oldest contractor 
and Ijuilder. He was born .\_ugust 25, 
1828, in Somerset county, Xew Jersey, of 
which state his parents, Dominicus and 
Catherine ( Terhune ) Stryker. were also 
natives. His maternal grandmother was 
born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent. The father, who was a hotel-keeper 
at ]\Iillstone. Xew Jersey, died in 1832, and 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



259 



the mother only survived liim aljout a 
montli. They were tlie parents of seven 
children, all of whom reached maturit\-. 
namely : Mary Terhune. who died in New 
Jersey about 1886; Adaline, who is now the 
widow of Abram Williamson and is li\ing 
in Somerville, Xew Jersey, at the age of 
eightv-two \ears ; John, a resident of Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania: Stephen, who died 
in Xew Jersev : Theodore, who entered the 
Union army during the Ci\'il war, but on ac- 
count of his health was t)bliged to return 
to his home in Lincoln, Illinois, where he 
died in 1861 : Henry T., our subject: and 
Catherine, who is li\-ing with her sisters in 
Somerx'ille, Xew Jersev. They were all 
educated in the jniblic schools of that state. 
John was given excejitional educational ad- 
vantages b\' an uncle and Ijecame a success- 
ful flry goods merchant of Philadelphia. 

Henry T. .Stryker has but little recollec- 
tion of his ]mrents, being only four years 
old at the time of their deaths. He then 
made his home with his grandfather Stry- 
ker in Xew Jersew and grew to manhood 
upon a farm. On attaining his majorit\- he 
started out to make his own wa\- in the 
world, and engaged in farming on his own 
account until coming west in 1855. when 
he commenced work at the carpenter's trade 
in Jacksomille, Illinois. Being of a me- 
chanical turn of mind, he met with rajjid 
advancement, and it was not long bef(ire he 
had thoroughl)- mastered e\'ery detail of the 
work. 

Having a brother in Lincoln. ]\Ir. 
Stryker came to this place after spending 
five years in Jacksonville, and Ijegan con- 
tracting and building. He met with good 
success, erecting many of the residences of 
the cit\- and eni])loving a large number of 
men. In connection with his carpenter work 
he does all kinds of contracting in brick. 



stone and wood, and has done considerable 
building in the vicinity of Lincoln. In 
1865 he purchased property and built a 
house for himself in this city. 

Mr. Stryker was married in Jackson- 
\ille, September 2^, i860, to Miss Char- 
lotte Catharine Benner, who was born in 
Gettysburg, Pennsyl\-ania, February 20, 
1836, and went to Jacksonville with a sister 
in 1859. Her parents were John and 
Esther ( Plank ) Benner, natives of Adams 
county, Pennsylvania, in which state they 
s])ent their entire lives as farming petjple. 
The father. wIkj was a soldier of the war 
of 1812, died January 12, 1850, and the 
n'lother passed away August 25, 1855. both 
being fifty-si.x years of age at the time of 
their deaths. In their family were se\-en 
children, all of whom reached man and 
womanhood : George is now a resident of 
Carroll count}-, Maryland; Maria is the 
widow of William Shoemaker and a resi- 
dent of the same county; Henry makes his 
home in .\dams county, Pennsylvania: Eliza 
married .\. R. Core, a soldier of the Civil 
w ar, and died at the old home in Gettsburg, 
in September, 1865: Simon C. died while a 
junior of Pennsyh-ania College, at the age 
of twenty-two years; Margaret A- is the 
widow of William Beastall and a resident 
of Jacksonville, Illinois; and Charlotte C. is 
the wife of our subject, and was educated at 
Cottage Hill College, York, PennsyKania, 
-All were reared and educated in the Key- 
stone state. Of the six children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Stryker, one died in infancy and 
Lottie M. died at the age ni twentv vears. 
Lina M., born in 1863, is the wife of W. B. 
Fish, M. D.. of Chicago; Mary Gertrude, 
Ijorn in i86q, is the wife of F. G. Perkins, 
of Florida; Perry Jordan, born in 1872 has 
charge of a sanitarium for backward chil- 
dren at Wheaton, Illinois; and Julius Ben- 



26o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nei" Biigart, Ijurn in J 879, was graduated 
from the Lincoln high sciiool. and is now 
the assistant secretary of the Planters Man- 
ufacturing Cpmpany, at Lake Mary, Flor- 
ida. They were all educated in the Lincoln 
puljlic schools. 

^Ir. Stryker has never taken any active 
part in p(ilitical affairs, and always \-otes 
for the men whom he considers hest quali- 
fied fijr office, regardless of party lines. His 
has been a very active and useful life, and he 
is well known and highly respected both as 
« citizen and business man. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stryker are both members of the Presby- 
terian church, in which Mr. Stryker was at 
one time a member of the ofiicial Ixiard. and 
Mrs. Stryker takes an actix-e part in church 
work. 1 he children were all reared in the 
church and all became members of the Pres- 
byterian church at Lincoln, although later 
some ha\-e transferred their membership 
elsewhere. 



JAMES JOHNSTON. 

James Jcjhnston is one of the progress- 
ive citizens of Logan county and his life 
stands in exemplification of the fact that 
America oft'ers most excellent opportunities 
to her citizens. She is continually attract- 
ing to her shore men of energy, determina- 
tion and ambition and improving the advan- 
tages found in the new world, they work 
their way upward to prosperity and become 
valued residents of their adopted land. 
Such a one is Mr. Johnston, and his acti\-e, 
upright life is in many respects well worthy 
of emulation. 

He was Ixirn in Countv Fermanagh, 
Ireland. December 25, 1839, but is of 
Scotch parentage. He is a son of John and 
Katherine (Brien) Johnston, both of whom 



were natives of Sj:otland. His opportuni- 
ties for securing" an education were very 
meager. At the age of nine years he ac- 
companied his parents to Glasgow, Scot- 
land, and the following year was employed 
as an errand Ijoy in a warehouse of that city, 
Avhere he remained for six years, working 
his way upward from one position to an- 
other. During this time he impnj\e<l his 
education i)\' attending night schndl. and 
throughout his life has been a friend of edu- 
cation and has greatly broadened his knowl- 
edge by reading, experience and obser\a- 
ti(jn. In his si.xteenth year he went with 
his ])arents to Canada, the familx' settling 1 
in Prescott county. In September, 1859, , 
he came to Logan count\-, Illinois, where he ' 
worked on a farm (iwned by his brother 
William until the fall of i860, when he 
purchased eighty acres of land in .\etna 
township. Locating thereon, he made it 
his home until 1880, but in the meantime 
he extended its boundaries until the place , 
comprised six hundred and forty acres, 
wliich he still nwns, nor does this by any 
means comprise all of his landed possess- 
ions. In 1 88 1 he purchased a stock farm 
of tweh'e hundred and forty acres in Mis- 
souri, where he engages in farming and 
feeding stock, having as many as three 
lumdred head of cattle upon the place. He 
has eight\- hundred and fiirt\' acres in Bates 
county, mostly in grass, and a large tract 
in Dade county. Since 1880 he has not re- 
sided upon his farm in Aetna township, Lo- 
gan county, but is still engaged in handling 
grain and stock. 

On the 6th of February, 1866, ;\lr. John- 
ston was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
M. Moffatt, of Ontario, Canada, the eldest 
daughter of James and Martha (Caldwell) 
Moffatt. Unto them have been born the 
following children : Martha, who died at 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



261 



the age of ten years; Sarah E\-ang'eHne, nuw 
the wife of Charles Richards, of Lincohi ; 
Katherine Ida; Percival Brien, wlio is with 
tlie Chaniljers, Bering, Ouinlan Coinpany, 
Decatur; Minnie E.,who is at home; Henry, 
wild dietl at t!ie age (_)f two }-ears ; Florence 
Moffatt, who is in the Lincoln University; 
;ind Helene Claude, who completes the fam- 
ily. ]\Irs. 3vl(iffatt is still living, eighty- four 
years of age. Our suljject and his wife are 
\-ery acceptahle memhers of the ]\Iethodist 
Episcopal chinxh. and in his political views 
he is a stalwart Repuhlican, unswerving in 
his ad\ncacy of the ])rinciples of the party. 
He beliex'es firmly in progress along ma- 
terial, social, educational and moral lines, 
and co-operates with any practical inoxe- 
ment to secure advancement. His beautiful 
home at No. 143 Eleventh street, Lincoln, 
is in one of the attractive residence portions 
of the city and is the visible e\'idence of the 
l)usy and useful life of the owner, whose 
splendid success is but the legitimate out- 
come of his own laljors, directed by sound 
judgment. In all transactions he is hon- 
orable and straightforward, and his life rec- 
ord is one which will bear the closest 
scrutiny and will be found to be above re- 
proach. 



JEFFERSON il. SULLIVAN. 

Jei¥erson M. Sullivan, one of the most 
highly respected farmers of Eminence town- 
shi]). Logan c<iunty, residing on section 15, 
comes of a good old North Carolina fam- 
ily. His parents, E. P. and Obedience 
(Stmud) Sullivan, were natives of that 
state, the latter being a daughter of Thomas 
Stroud. F.. P. Sullivan was reared to man- 
hot)d on his father's farm, and received a 
good education in the country schools. 



During the Black Hawk war he served faith- 
fully to the end and was honorably dis- 
charged. At its close he remo\-ed to Iowa, 
where he spent his remaining days, dving in 
the year 1892, the mother survi\-ing four 
years. They were the parents of ten chil- 
dren. JefTerson M. was born in Eminence 
township. August 8, 1836, the place of his 
birth being his present home. Here he 
grew to maturity, and in the spring of 1862 
he enlisted in Company H, Sixty-eighth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Le- 
roy T. Brown, serving Avith distinction six 
months. At the end of tliis time he was 
C(jmpelled tO' return home, having contracted 
a se\'ere case of rheumatism, and on Sep- 
tember 22, 1862, he was honorably dis- 
charged. He located in Logan county, Illi- 
nois, where he has since tilled the soil for 
a livelihood. The old home consists of 
sixt}- acres of well improved land. 

On November 15, 1863, Mr. Sullivan 
was united in marriage with Miss Emma 
Lindsey, the daughter of James Lindsey, 
one of Logan county's foremost citizens, 
who died April 28, 1898. To this 
worthy couple were born five children, of 
whom three survive, namely : Elizabeth, 
now Mrs. C. W'u Crus. of North Dakota; 
Lucy L., who resides with her father; and 
Pearl P., who married L. Roy Perkie. 
Effie, the oldest daughter, died September 
29, 1901. She was the wife of C. W. 
Houser and resided in North Dakota. The 
mother of these children passed away April 
28, 1899. 

Mr. Sullivan has been school director 
for several years, and politically has always 
supported the principles of the Democratic 
party. He and his entire famil_\- are devout 
members of the Christian church. 

He 'is widely and favorably known 
throughijut his community, and well de- 



262 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



serves tlie liigli regard in wliich lie is uni- 
formly held, as he was not onl}- true to his 
country in the hour of need, but has always 
been found a useful and \aluable citizen. 



THOMAS D. TUTTLE. 

History records no more honest, hon- 
orable or prosperous career than that of an 
agriculturist, as the following sketch adds 
another proof. Thomas D. Tuttle is the 
youngest li\ing child of a family of five 
children born to James and Harriet 
(Hatch) Tuttle. Of three boys he is one 
of the two who survive: Francis ^I.. whose 
sketch appears elsewhere in this work, gave 
his life in defense of the stars and stripes, 
July 29, 1863. The two girls were Mrs. \^^ 
\\\ Richmond and Margaret M.. who was 
the wife of F. M. Hoblit. deceased, and died 
October 28, 1864. Guy H.. a brother of 
our subject, is represented on another page 
of this volume. 

The father of our subject. James Tut- 
tle, was an old pioneer and a native of the 
Buckeye state, born in Athens county, De- 
cember 16, 1806. The mother of our sub- 
ject was a native of New York state. The 
paternal grandparents were Chandler and 
Jane (Neal) Tuttle, who were of English 
descent and were the parents of seven chil- 
dren. James Tuttle's first wife died Sep- 
tember 5, 1866, and he later married Mrs. 
Emma Turner, who was born in December, 
1809, and died on July 29, 1897. IMr. Tut- 
tle was an energetic and excellent farmer 
and met with sucess in his agricultural pur- 
suits, making him financially well-to-do. As 
a result of the confidence reposed in him bv 
people in general, he was made a member 
of the old state constitutional convention 



and for several years held the jjosition of 
super\'isor of .Atlanta townshij), his political 
views being in support of the Republican 
party. He was a thorough business man, 
having learned every detail of the pork 
packing business in Cincinnati, besides 
which he had a thorough knowledge of the 
manufacture of brick. His declining years 
were spent on a part of the several tracts of 
land which he ac<[uired by years of toil. 
Death called him April 14, 1899. 

Thomas D. Tuttle. our subject, was born 
in Logan county, Illinois, September i, 
1847, '^"'^^ ^^'is reared on his father's farm, 
recei\-ing what education he could gleam 
from the common country schools of those 
davs. Upon reaching manhood he went to 
Chicago and took a thorc^ugh course in 
bookkeeping. 

On Septeml)er 4, 1870, was celebrated 
the marriage of our subject to Miss Emma 
Turner, a daughter of Harvey and Eliza- 
beth ( Hoblit ) Turner, of Logan county, 
and this union has been blessed with fi\-e 
children, one of whi^m died in infancy. The 
li\ing are as follows : Adella. born on the 
old homestead. October 8, 1871 : Bessie E., 
born December 3. 1876: Earl S., born June 
7, 1881 : and Guy H., bom June 2-j. 1886. 
Mr. Tuttle embarked in the flour and 
milling business at .\tlanta, in 1876, assum- 
ing the interest and control of his father- 
in-law's stock in the above mill, which was 
one of the largest in the county. Being a 
good financier, he continued in that capac- 
ity until 1882, when the mill was destroyed 
by fire. The mill was built and previ- 
ously run by the firm of H. Turner & Com- 
pany, who were succeeded by Turner, Tut- 
tle & Company. Seeking a change of cli- 
mate, in 1888 our subject located in Cali- 
fornia, where he remained until November, 
1892, when he returned to Logan county 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



263 



and resumed his farming interests. At the 
same time he was temporarily appointed 
postmaster and for two years ser\-ed in that 
capacity, performing the duties of that of- 
fice for John B. Lambert. 

In 1891 occurred tlie death of liis wife 
and nine years later, on the loth of ]\Iarch, 
1900, he was again united in marriage with 
]\Irs. Ida B. Starker, a daughter of William 
]\IcCance, of Logan county. Mrs. Tuttle 
is a devout member of the Baptist church. 

The subject of this review atifiliates with 
the Republican party in politics, and is 
prominentl}- identified with the United 
Workmen and Modern Woodmen lodges. 
A hard working, energetic man, Mr. Tut- 
tle meets every recpiirement of a patriotic 
citizen, and in strict attendance to his duties 
of home and farm, has ne\'er been mm-ed 
to seek greater publicit}-. 



JOHX M. ROTHWELL. 

One of the most prominent and influ- 
ential citizens of Mt. Pulaski is John M. 
Rothwell, who has taken an active part in 
pri limiting its substantial impro\-ement and 
material de\elopment. He was Ixirn in 
Lancaster, Garrard county, Kentucky, Oc- 
tober 5, 1843, ^"'l is a son of Thomas and 
Matilda Rothwell, the former a native of 
Virginia and the latter of Kentucky, where 
their marriage was celebrated. His pater- 
nal grandfather, Thomas Rothwell, was alsc7 
born in ^'irginia, and at an earh' dav re- 
moved with his family to Kentucky, where 
he s])ent the remainder of his life. 

Our subject was reared as a farmer boy 
in his native place, and received a good, 
practical education in the public schools. 
He remained under the parental roof until 



1863, when he went to Sangamon county, 
Illinois, and engaged in farming and the 
stock business. During the Ci\il war he 
bought mules for the go\'ernment in the 
states of Illinois, Penns\'lvania and Ken- 
tuck\-, and sometimes turned over to the gov- 
ernment agenc}' as many as one hundred 
mules at a time. In 1864 he had charge of 
the business of John T. Allen, the great cat- 
tle king and mule operator, in whose interests 
he traveled all over Kentucky, Arkansas, In- 
diana, Ohio, Tennessee and Xorth and South 
Carolina, buying stock. 

In 1865 I\Ir. Rothwell came to Logan 
count}-, where he was engaged in farming 
for a time, but from 1873 until 1882 he was 
a resident of Kansas, and for five years of 
that time operated a flouring mill on the 
Arkansas ri\er at Oxford, and from there 
went to Indian Territory, where he was en- 
gaged in the cattle business. Returning to 
Logan county, Illinois, in 1883, he located 
in Elkhart township, and engaged in feed- 
ing cattle for a time, but later bought and 
fed hogs and operated five hundred acres of 
land. In March, 1894, he took up his resi- 
dence in Mt. Pulaski, and has since been 
prominently identified with the business and 
political interests ijf this place. He is now 
successfully engaged in buying and shipping 
cattle, hogs and sheep, Chicago being his 
principal market. 

In 1865 Mr. Rothwell was united in mar- 
riage with I\Iiss Agnes \'. Scroggin, a na- 
tix'e of Logan county, and a daughter of 
Leonard K. and Lavina (Buckles) Scrog- 
gin. They have become the parents of four 
children: Myrtle, who is now the wife of 
Nelson Gasaway, Thomas, a farmer and 
Ijreeder of the noted Polled Angus cattle; 
John, teller in the Scroggin Bank at Mt. 
Pulaski: and Mabel, who is still in school. 

Politically Mr. Rothwell is a pronounced 



264 



Till': r.lOGRAi'lllLAL RECORD. 



1 '(.■nim.-rat, and ho has taken qnitc an active 
and inllncntial part in ptilihc id'fairs. lie has 
tilled the tit'lict's nl hii;h\vay cciiiniissitmcr 
and coiintv sui)Oi"\isor. and in ]8i)f) was 
elected mayor nl Mt. I'nlaski to till ont the 
uiiexj)ired term of A. (i. Jones. Jle was 
re-elected in iSgt), and serxetl, in all, three 
years, to the entire .satisfaction oi the j)ul)- 
lie. I lis hnsiness has e\er been sneh as to 
make it necessary for him to traxel (|nite 
extensively, and he has heconie widely 
known throuji'hor.t the west and south, lie 
is genial, courteous, enterprising and pro- 
gressive, of commendable public spirit, and 
in all the relations of life has been found 
true to e\ery trust repused in him. 



DAVID llOWLES. 



I.evgan ci>unty hatl witnessed the arrhal 
of fe'w of her citizens when David Bowles 
took up his abode within her borders. His 
residence in Or\il township now antedates 
that of any otlier person living in the com- 
munity, lor he came here in 1846, then a 
young man of twcilty-one. He has watched 
the develojiment and growth of this portion 
of the state as it has emerged from the wil- 
derness and from the liarren prairie to bloom 
and bk>ssom as the rose, and in the work of 
upbuilding and advancement he has borne 
a part of signal usefulness. He is now li\"- 
irig retired after mau\- years connection w ith 
agricultural interests, enjoying a well-earned 
rest in his pleasant home in Emden, 

The Bowles family originated in Eng- 
land, the first of the name he'mg Stephen 
Bowles, who lived in Dover. He had two 
sons who emigrated to the United States 
some time prior to the Revolutionary war. 
It is believeil that these two brothers, Jesse 



and David, settled in the Xew luiglaud 
states, as David had a son John, who was a 
captain in the Revolutionary war. .Stephen 
Bowles, of the third generation, married and 
had a family of four children. One of these 
was Da\id. wlio tiually settled in \'irginia. 
He, in turn, luul a famil\- of se\en children, 
one of whom was Jes.se. He also married 
anil became the father of se\en children, of 
whom one was David, the great-grandfather 
of our subject. He married JMinnie Rice, 
and they were the parents of nine children, 
of w honi Jesse was one. I iannah Perkins be- 
came his wife, and to them were born nine 
children, one of whom was Hughes, the fa- 
ther of our subject. David Bowles, the 
great-grandfather of our subject, li\ed and 
died in A'irginia. His son Jesse was born 
in that state, but moved to Kentucky some 
time after the birth of our subject's father, 
and there he lived to reach an advanced age. 

Mr. Bow les was born in Bourbon county, 
Kentucky, March 13. 1825, a son of Hughes 
and Elizabeth (Payne) Bowles, lioth of 
wiiom were natives of ^"irginia. whence they 
removed' to Kentucky in an early day. The 
father there followed farming and w as also 
a minister of the Christian church. He con- 
tinued to reside in the Blue Grass state untif 
1830, when he came with his family to Illi- 
nois, settling in that part of Sangamon coun- 
ty which is now a part of DeWitt county. 
Their home was near Midland City and also 
near the Lincoln county line. There the la- 
ther entered land from the government and 
engaged in its cultivation until his death, 
which occurred Decemlx?r 28, 1846. His 
wife passed away April 20. 1847. Elder 
Bowles had been twice married, his first 
union being with Ruth Prather, and after her 
death he married Elizabeth Payne, the moth- 
er of our subject. 

Bv the first marriage there were seven 



D 
> 
< 



o 

r 
w 

> 

z 

a 



13 




THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



267 



children: Andersnn, who was born January 
19, 1808, married ]\,rargaret Carter, and died 
Septemljer 24, 1S90; Josepli, who was born 
September (>. iSog, married Rebecca Green, 
and lie is also deceased; Walter P., born 
January 5, 181 1. was a minister of the Chris- 
tian church, well known in Logan countv, 
married Isabelle A\'allacc, and died March 

19, 1863: Betsy T., born October 12, 1812, 
married lienry Hall, and died December 11. 
1890; Eleanor, who was born September 24,' 
1814, became the wife of Harrison Baker, 
and departed this life December 16. 1872; 
\'erlinda, who was born Julv 20, 1816, mar- 
ried Hiram Daniels, and is also deceased; 
and Henry IL, who was liorn Jnlv 10, 181 8, 
married Casander Hall, and died September 

20, 1S45. By the second marriage of Elder 
Bowles were liorn six children : Rebecca R., 
born :\Larch 19, 1S21, gave her hand in mar- 
riage to Ciiarles C. Wallace, and died in 
June, 1893; Julia, born September 15, 1822, 
is the wife of Peter J. Hawes. and resides 
in Augusta, Kansas; Sallie Ann, born Feb- 
ruary 26, 1824, died in infanc}-; David is the 
next younger; Jesse P., Iiorn June 18, 1827, 
married Maria Bevan, and resides in Mnl- 
vane, Kansas; and A^'illiam F., born October 
5, 1829, married Rebecca F. Martin, and 
lives in Delphos, Iowa. 

Like the other members of the family, 
David Bowles acquired onl_\- a common- 
school education. He assisted his father in 
the work of the farm in DeAVitt county, and 
while there was married on the 8th of May, 
1845- ^^'ss Elizabeth Ryan becoming his 
wife. She was born in Logan countv, Ken- 
tucky, Feljruary 9, 1824, a daughter of the 
Rev. William and Frances (Edgar) Ryan, 
who remo\-ed to Logan county, Illinois, at 
an early day and here spent much of their 
lives. The mother passed away in 1850 in 
this county, and the father died in Missouri 

15 



m 1S78. He was a farmer and a minister 
of the Christian church, and preached 
throughout this county. The marriage of 
Mr. and Mrs. Bowles has been blessed wdth 
seven children: Francis E., who was born 
April 20, 1846, died ]\Iarch 3. 1847; Will- 
iam Hughes, who was born December 20, 
1847, married Jennie Smallwood, and they 
reside on a farm on section 2, Orvil town- 
ship, in connection with the cultivation of 
which he conducts a grain elevatoi" in Em- 
den ; Rebecca A., born November 2, 185 1, 
died March 29, 1852; George H.. born 
April 25, 1853, married Mollie Rogers, and 
is living in Mahaska county, Iowa ; Sarah A., 
born April 17, 1855, is the wife of D. H. 
Gamberling, a resident agriculturist of Orvil 
township; Charles R.. born December 12, 
1856, married Annie Simpson, and is living 
on the old homestead in Orvil township ; and 
Da\-id L., born December 23, i860, married 
Annie Rogers, and resides in Emden, where 
he is engaged in general merchandising un- 
der the hrm name of D. L. Bowles & Com- 
pany. 

After his marriage Mr. Bowles, of this 
re\iew, remained upon the old homestead 
farm near Midland City until his father's 
death, in 1846. He then remo\-ed to Orvil 
township and settled on what is now section 
2, where he entered land from the grw- 
ernment, for which he paid sixt_\--two and a 
half cents per acre, having a Mexican land 
warrant. He was the first settler in that part 
of the county. He began making improve- 
ments, and as the }-ears passed added all the 
modern accessories and conveniences, thus 
transforming a barren tract of prairie land 
into one of the most desirable country seats 
in the county. He successfully carried on 
general farming until 1895, when, having 
acquired a handsome competence, he resolveft 
to rest from his labors, and removed to Em- 



268 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



I, 



den, where he Is noAV Hving retired, ahhoujjh 
he stiH owns the home place of more tlian 
three huiuh-ed acres of vahialile land. His 
long residence in the cotinty has made him 
well known, and the regard in which he is 
held throughout the community is shown 
by the fact that he is often six>ken of as 
"Uncle Davy." He has never sought or de- 
-sired public office, but gave his support to 
the Republican party until 1896, since which 
time he has been a Prohibitionist. Both he 
and his wife are members of the Christian 
church in Orvil township, in which he is also 
serving as elder, and in its work he takes a 
deep interest, contributing generously to its 
support. He owns a beautiful residence on 
one of the principal streets of Emden, and 
there he and his estimable wife expect to 
spend their remaining days. His lite, up- 
right and honorable in all relations, has been 
one crowned with success in business and 
with high regard in social life. 



ANDREW J. BERRYHILL. 

The subject of this review is spending 
the closing years of a long and useful life 
free from business cares at his pleasant 
home in Lincoln. He was born near Bell- 
brook, Greene count)-, Ohio, March 22, 
1827, a son of Samuel and Polly (Crum- 
lev) Berryhill. both of whom were natives 
<if Virginia and of Scotch descent. His 
])aternal grandfather was Alexander Berry- 
liill, while the maternal grandparents were 
.\aron and Sarah ( iMercer ) Crumley. 
These families were acquainted in Vir- 
ginia prior to their removal to Ohio. The 
father of our subject was born in the Blue 
Ridge Mountains, in 1800, and in early life 
went to Ohio, where he was united in mar- 
riasfe with Miss Pollv Crumlev. They 



made their home in Greene county, where he 
died in 184c), his wife in 1854. He fol- 
liiwed farming as a life occupation, and 
also operated a distillery for some years. 
His family numbered fifteen children, eleven 
sons and four daughters, of Avhom twelve 
reached mature years, married and reared 
families of their own. These were William 
C. : Alexander F. : Minerva J-. wife of 
Joshua Hol)lit : AndrcAv J., our subject; 
Aaron Mercer; Samuel Lee; Mary M.. wife 
of Robert Brelsford ; Lemnron T. : Eleacum 
B. ; Hannah Samantha,: and Aurelius P. 

During liis bovhood .\ndrew J. Berrv- 
hill attended the ccmimon schools near his 
home, and remainetl under the parental roof, 
aiding in the work of the farm until twenty 
years of age. He then married Aiiss Sarah 
Hatfield, of Greene county, a daughter of 
Wheatle}' Hatfield. They began their 
domestic life in Bellbniok. where Mv. Ber- 
ryhill engaged in merchandising one A'ear, 
and then remox'ed to a farm in his native 
county. In 1849 his wife died of cholera, 
leaving one daughter, Mar\- J., now the wife 
of J. \\'. Haas. He subse(|nently wedded 
j\Iiss Elizabeth Jane Sullixan, also of 
Greene count\-, Ohio, who died Februarv 2, 
/.804. • 

In the spring' of 1856 ^Ir. Berryhill came 
to Illinois, and after spending about a year 
in Menard county, located in Logan county, 
bu_\ing a farm nf nue hundred and sixty 
acres nortii of Beason, for which he paid 
two thousand dollars. He subsequently 
purchased more land, and still owns two 
hundred and fift\- acres, w hich he has placed 
untler a high state of culti\ation. He fol- 
lowed diversified farming quite success- 
full}- mitil 1894. when he retired from ac- 
tive lali(ir and has since niade his home in 
Lincoln, where he owns a pleasant residence 
at 631 College avenue. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



26s^ 



For his present wife Mr. Berryman mar- 
ried Miss Ida Beers, of Lincoln, in 1894. 
She is a native of Logan county, and a 
daughter of Thomas and Hettie J. (Mar- 
tin Beers. Her motlier died in 1898, the 
fatlier in October, 1883. By this union Mr. 
Bqrryman has two children : A. J. and 
Hettie Karine. 

In his political affiliations our subject is 
a stanch Republican, and in his religious 
views was a Methodist, having been a mem- 
ber of that church f<ir many years. In 1884 
he helped organize the Cumberland Presby- 
terian church at Center Point, of which he 
was trustee and elder, and he has since been 
a member of that den<jmination. He not 
only takes an active part in church work, but 
contributes liberally to its support, and has 
filled most of the offices in the church. He 
is pre-eminently public-spirited, and is held 
in high regard bv all who know him. 



ADOLPH RQIERMAN. 

Adolph Rimerman, a retired farmer and 
highly esteemed citizen of Lincoln, Illinois, 
was born in Hanover, Germany, on the 3d 
of March, 1838, and is a son of Frederick 
and Fredericka ( Xansted ) Rimerman, w ho 
emigrated to America in 1845. They land- 
ed in New Orleans after a voyage of three 
months" duration, and proceeded up the 
Alississippi ri\-er to St. Louis, Missouri, 
whence they came to Bath, Mason county, Il- 
linois, and located vipon a farm. After 
making their home there until 1864, the 
father remo\-ed to West Lincoln township, 
Logan county, where he purchased two hun- 
dred acres of land, to the improvement and 
culti\ation of which he devoted his energies 
until called to jiis final rest, March 2, 1887. 
He was Ijorn December 16, 1797. His wife, 



whose birth occurred January 29, 1802, died 
Alay 18, 1874. Both were members of the 
E\angelical church, and he was a Democrat 
in politics. 

The subject of this sketch was only 
seven years old when he came withh is par- 
ents to the new world, and during his boy- 
hood anil youth he [pursued his studies in the 
public schools of this state through the win- 
ter months, while during the summer season 
he worked on the home farm. At the age of 
twent}-four he left the parental roof and 
started out in life for himself as a farmer, 
his father giving him eighty acres of land 
the following year. 

On the 6th of February, 1862, Mr. 
Rimerman married IMiss Henrietta Gilbach, 
of Mason county, Illinois, who was born in 
Baxaria, (jermany, and came to the United 
States with her mother. She died Septem- 
ber 24, 1883, and four of the ten children 
born of that union are also deceased. Those 
lix'ing are Alary F.. who is now the wife of 
W^illiam Gale, of Linc(jln, and has three 
sons, Ralph, Roy and Robert : Emma F., 
Frederick A.; X'ictor H.. a dentist of Lin- 
coln: Clara; and ]\linnie. The mother of 
these children was a faithful member of 
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church. 
Mr. Rimerman was again married, April 
30, 1885, his second union being with Mrs. 
Lucy Shear, of Lincoln, a daughter of Amos 
and Sarah (Bailey) Higgin. The children 
b\- her former marriage were Eugene, a resi- 
dent of Lincoln : Anna Lillian, wife of Rev. 
H. Smith, an Evangelical minister of Niles 
Center, Illinois; and Frederick, an under- 
taker of Nebraska City, Nebraska. 

At the time of his first marriage Mr. 
Rimerman owned eighty acres of land in 
Mason county, and one hundred and sixty 
acres in West Lincoln township, Logan 
count)-, and U])on the latter tract he and his 



2/0 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



voung wife took up their abode. There he 
successfully engaged in general farming 
and stock-raising until 1886, when he rented 
his farm and removed to Lincoln, where he 
has since practically lived retired, enjoying 
the fruits of former toil. He assisted in or- 
eanizino- the German-American Bank, of 
which he was president for about eight 
3-ears. He also helped to organize the 
Farmers ilutual Insurance Company, and 
has served as its treasurer ever since with 
exception of one year, and is also one of its 
directors. 

The Democratic party finds in Mr. 
Rimerman a stanch supporter of its princi- 
ples, antl he has taken a very active and in- 
Huential part in political affairs, serving as 
supervisor of West Lincoln township two 
\ears. He also filled the oftice of county 
treasurer from 1890 to 1894. and has been 
alderman of the city from the third ward, 
having been a second time elected to that 
office in the spring of 1900. His official 
duties have always been most capably and 
satisfactorily i>erfornied, winning for him 
the conuuendation of all concerned. He is 
public-spirited and progressive, and gives 
his support to all worthy enterprises whose 
object is to promote the general welfare of 
the comnumity in which he lives. Relig- 
iouslv he is a member of the Evangelical 
church of Lincoln, in which he served as 
deacon for fifteen years, but since resign- 
ing that position has held no church oftice. 



JOHX A. snipsox. 

John .\. Simpson, ot this review, is one 
of the leading contractors and builders of 
Lincoln, Illinois, antl has been an esteemed 
resident of this city since October 8. 1864. 



The birth of Mr. Simpson occurred in 
Rochester. Oakland county, ^lichigan. ^lay 
30, 1852, and he was a son of Jeremiah and 
Sarah D. (^Hoppins) Simpson. 

Jeremiah Simpson, the father of our 
subject, was born in Trenton, Xew Jersey, 
in 18 1 8, antl is now hale and hearty, at the 
age of eight\-three years. In young man- 
hood he learned the trade of shoemaker, and 
later the carpenter's trade, in Xew York, 
but at the time of the outbreak of the Civil 
w ar was a resident of Warren county. Ohio. 
He enlisted for service in Company I. 
Fourth Ohio Cavalry, in which he was ser- 
geant, and was a faithful and efticient ofticer 
until he was disabled in one of the battles 
and was honorably discharged in 1864. To 
his daring and bravery the government was 
indebted deeply, as the following letter will 
testify : 

"Akmv of Clmberl.\xd. 
"C.\MP Stanley, Texx., April 10. '(\^. 
"Caf'taui Albert B. Dodd. 

"Sir: I sent Sergeant Simpson's de- 
scriptive roll to him at Cleveland. Ohio, on 
February i, 1863. as soon as he sent for it. 
He left tlie regiment at Hunts\ille. Ala- 
bama, as a recruiting ofticer. is the reason 
he did not get his papers. I am sorry his 
health is such that he cannot return to us. 
His courage and patriotism while with us 
won the friendship of all that knew him in 
the company. We miss him. He was emi- 
nently a good soldier and a X'. O. ofticer. 
He has lost his health in defense of his 
cimntry. and his government ought to re- 
member him. He has stood by me in 
dangers, ne\er shrinking from duty, always 
seeking the front. The government owes 
to him personally the capture of all we got 
at Huntsville. at least one million dollars. 
The sergeant was one of the advance guard, 
mounted on a fleet horse, pursued the mail 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECQg^. 



carrier tor miles after all the others gave 
out, captured him and the mail, keeping 
the intelligence from ]lunts\ille of the ap- 
roach of General Mitchell's forces. Hence 
A\e ti'iik the place hy surprise completely on 
the morning of .Xjiril i. i86j. From that 
time until he left he was almost constantly 
in the saddle, scmiting and skirmishing with 
the enenu". 

"1 am \'ours ohediently. 

"Jonx C. Stkwart. 
■■I'irst Lieutenant, Commanding Company 
1, Fourtli Ohio Volunteer Cavalrw 
"The above statements are true. 

"C.\PT. F. Zl.MMKR.MAX. 

'"Company K. Fmu'th Ohio \'olunteer C."v- 
alry." 

Mr. Simpson was married in 1850. in 
Cincinnati. Ohio, to Sarah D. Hoppins. who 
was born in Staunton, Virginia. She still 
survi\es. having always been a woman of 
remarkable activitv. The children born to 
Sergeant and Mrs. Simpson \\ ere : Roliert. 
who died in 1898. in Peoria, where he had 
been engaged in business as carpenter, me- 
chanic and hotel-keeper: John A., the sub- 
ject of this sketch: Charles A., who lives in 
Linciiln: Anna, who is the wife of Edward 
\\ odeski. a druggist, of Lincoln : and Doug- 
las C. alderman from the fiftlt ward. Both 
he and his brother Charles have long Ijeen 
associated with our subject in business. All 
of these children were gi\-en the best pos- 
sible school advantages, although the sons 
were early obliged to contribute to the sup- 
port (if the family, as the father's means 
were limited when he located in this state. 
Since that time until his retirement from ac- 
ti\ity Mr. Simpson followefl the trade of 
carpenter, contractor and builder, extending 
his labors to Chicago. Indianapolis and Lin- 



coln. .He assisted in the erection of many 
of the buildings of all kinds in this city, 
notably that of tlie Lincoln L^niversity. 

I'ntil he was sixteen years of age John 
A. Simpst)n attended school and was an apt 
antl aml)itious student. His first essav at 
bread-wiiuiing was as a clerk, but less than 
one year satisfied him that his talents must 
be directed in another direction. He tlien 
entered a woolen mill for a shi.irt time, but 
it was in i8;ig that he liegan upon a trade 
which has brought him ample rewards and 
ccnspicuotis position. His first work was 
w ith his father, with whom he remained for 
three years, or until he was a competent 
workman. He spent much time in Chicago, 
where his father had man)- contracts. Af- 
ter this he entered the employ nf the archi- 
tect and cnntractnr. Mr. Gaxle. but in i88j, 
in connection with his father, he became a 
member of the firm of liuilders and con- 
tractors which f(ir the next six years did 
much of the l)uilding in this section. Then 
he l)ought his father's interest and totik up 
in earnest the architectural part of the busi- 
ness, and in 1898 passed a \ery satisfactory 
examination in it in Chicago. 

^Ir. Simpson draws his own plans, and 
his original designs give an attractive ap- 
pearance to almost all his work. He has 
done much building in Lincoln, choosing 
niiw the work on which he can bestow the 
results of his study. The nn^st substantial 
and expensive residences in this city and 
\-icinity have been built under his careful 
su]ier\-ision. ^Ir. Simpson emplovs about 
ei,ghteen men and carries on e\erv branch 
'i)f cr)ntracting and building, although he 
luakes a personal specialtx' of handling and 
setting plate glass. About se\enty-five per 
cent of this work in Lincoln has been done 
by him. and he is also competent to figure 



272 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



en fire losses and give estimates for replace- 
ment of the glass. 

Mr. Simpson was married in 1876, in 
Lincoln, to ]\Iiss Amy Stewart, who was 
born in Luzerne county, Pennsyhania, in 
1856. Her parents were residents of Ma- 
son count}-, Illinois, but are deceased._ The 
other members of the family are : ]\Irs. A. 
S. Guthrie, of Blunt, South Dakota: Henry, 
an attorney in Missouri ; ^Irs. Louis A. 
Jackson, of Green Bay, Wisconsin : Charles 
F. Beck, a half-brother, in the clothing busi- 
ness in Chicago; and Harry Beck, a farmer, 
of Mason county. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Simpson were as follows: Sylvester A., 
the eldest, died on January 10, ic^oi. He 
learned the trade under his father, was a 
bright, intelligent voung man of twenty-four 
years, was time-keeper, and at work when 
he fell from a building and was killed. His 
education had been acquired in the public 
schools and in the Lincoln Business College. 
Myra L., Julia C Carl E. and .-Kmy I. have 
all been well educated. The family resi- 
dence was erected in 1875, ''"'^^ '^ o"^ ^^ ^'^^ 
most Cfjmfortable and attractive in its vicin- 
ity. The religious connection of the family 
is with the Christian church, in which Mr. 
Simpson has been trustee for several years. 
Although Mr. Simpson is an ardent Repub- 
lican and an interested worker f(jr his party, 
he has never consented to hold ot¥ice. His 
social membership is with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows : is president of the 
order K. of G.. and is ^•ery prominently 
identified with the Sons of Veterans, has 
passed three chairs in that order and was 
chosen a delegate to the Detroit Encamp- 
ment, from Illinois, in i8g8. He is a stock- 
holder and was formerly a trustee in the 
Lincoln Building .\ssociation. He is one of 
the leading and reliable citizens of Lincoln. 



LORENZO D. DOWNING. 

Among the old and higlily esteemed 
resitlents of Chester township, Logan coun- 
ty, Illinois, who enjoys the distinction of 
being the oldest continuous citizen, is 
Lorenzo D. Downing, whose name is a 
familiar one through this part of the county. 
The birth of ^Ir. Downing goes far l)ack in 
the iiistory of the state, taking place Decem- 
ber 27, 1829. His father was Robert 
Downing, who was a nati\e of Pennsyl- 
\ania, and was taken to Ohio by his parents 
when a lad and there received a frontier 
school education, later teaching school for 
a few terms. His wife was formerly Jane 
]\Iorrow, who was l)orn in Ca_\'uga county, 
New York, but died in Logan county, at the 
age of eighty years, her husband survi\-ing 
tcT the age of ninety-three years and six 
months. Both sleep in the Templeman 
cemetery, a daughter l)eing the first person 
interred in that ground. 

Tlie Downing family landed in Logan 
county in .\ugust, 1822. At that time 
there were but few houses along the timber 
belt where the\- settled, but Robert Downing 
worked hard, cleared up a prr)perty and then 
went to Galena, where laborers were wanted 
in the lead mines. Here he was employed 
for two }"ears, and in this time he accumu- 
lated enough to return to Logan county and 
l)uy eighty acres of land, for which he paid 
one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. 
This was but a beginning, for as time went 
on his industry was rewarded and he finally 
owned nine hundred acres of land in this 
county. Ten children were born into this 
home, these being: John, who died in Mc- 
Lean county ; Mary, now living in Iowa, the 
wife of George Roberts, formerly of Logan 
c<iunty; Lorenzo D., who was born in San- 
eamon count^• before the dix'ision ; Alex- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



273 



ander. wlio is now living- in Lincoln, a re- 
tired carpenter, formerly a soldier in the 
Civil war: ]\Ialita, the widow of Thomas 
Downing, of Logan count}- : Elizabeth, de- 
ceased, who married Samuel Downing; De- 
lilah, the wife of D. Shelhammer, residing 
in Laenna township ; Henry Clay, deceased, 
who was a soldier in the Ci\il war and died 
from the effects of his service: and Robert 
H., now a resilient of Mt. Pidaski township. 
The land was all di\'ided among the chil- 
dren, who had been given all of the educa- 
tional advantages possible at that time. 
The ancestry of the familv was Scotch- 
Irish. Robert Downing was a tine speci- 
men (if physical manhood. 

During the winter through his boyhood 
Lorenzo Downing attended school as oppor- 
tunit}- afforded, but the summers were oc- 
cupied in farm work. Until he was twenty- 
four years of age he remained with his 
father. At that time he married, and the 
next )ear purchasetl one hundred and sixty 
acres of lantl, which he improved, and built 
a small house upon it in 1S56, adding land 
imtil he now i>\vns se\-en hundred acres, 
eight}' of which is in timber. The balance 
is under culti\'ation and is farmed by his 
children. All of his land has been well im- 
proved, and to much of it he gave his per- 
sonal attention until iSc^o. when he retired 
from active labi.n". lea\ing the liurdens to 
younger hands. 

Mr. Downing was first married Janu- 
ary I. 1854, to Miss Angeline Shoup, who 
died in October, 1854. In 1856 he was 
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Shoup, 
who was a native (jf Ohio. In 1873 she 
passed awa}-, the three sur\-iving children 
of the family of se\en born to this union 
being: Ellen, the wife of William Milner, 
who resides in Mt. Pulaski township: \\'ill- 
iam L.. who resides in Chester township; 



and John M., who resides in Aetna town- 
ship, all of the children l>eing located on 
property belonging to their honored father. 
In 1873 Mr. Downing was married to ]\Irs. 
Xancy ( Hainline) Bradley, who was born 
in Tazewell county, Illinois. July 4, 1S38. 
She had one daughter living, — Alice, who 
married William H. Smith, and resides in 
East Lincoln township. To our subject 
and wife two children ha\e lieen born, of 
whom one died in infancy. Flora B. is the 
w ife of Joseph M. Shoup, and they have one 
son living. — Cecil. Our subject lives at 
the home of his daughter in Chester town- 
shii). surrounded b}' e\'ery comfort and be- 



loved by his large familv. 



In politics Mr. Downing has been an 
active worker in Republican ranks, but has 
never desired [)artv recognition. Mrs. 
Downing is a member of the Christian 
church, and Mr. Downing cheerfully and 
liberally contributes to the support and ad- 
vancement of all Christian enterprises. He 
is financially interested as a stockholder in 
the First National Bank at Blount Pulaski^ 
and has been the organizer and promoter of 
many of the leading interests of the countv. 
Mr. Downing is the oldest continuous resi- 
dent of Chester township now living there, 
and has been an intelligent and interested 
witness of the wonderful changes which 
have taken place. 



^^■1LLIAM H. NEEL. 

One of the most energetic and enterpris- 
ing Imsiness men of Atlanta is William H. 
Xeel, proprietor of the leading livery and 
feed stable of that ])lace. He is a native of 
Illinois, born in Pike countv, August 7, 
i8(')4, and was unl}- t\\(j years old when 
brought to Logan countv l)v his jiarents. 



274 



TtlE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Henry and Tsahclla ( Bowcn ) Xeel. The 
lather was l)iirn in Pennsyh ania. of Irisli 
and German tleseent, and there learned the 
carpenter's trade, wlncli he followed in con- 
nection \vith farminj^- thronghont the greater 
part of his life. In the fall of 1850 he came 
to Pike county. Illinois, anil linally located 
in Logan count}' in 1866, his home heing on 
a farm east of Lincoln, where he remained 
until his death, which occurred Alarch 3, 
1899. His wife, who still resides on the old 
home farm with a son and daughter, was 
liorn in i8_>4. and is, therefore. se\ent\- 
seven year.s of age at the present writing. 
Of the five children born to them only three 
now sur\i\e.- 

William H. Xeel grew to manhood upon 
the home farm, and was provided with good 
school privileges, attending lirst the com- 
mon schools, later the Lincoln Business Col- 
lege anil completing his education at the 
Lincoln University. He began his business 
career as a farmer and stock dealer, and con- 
tinued to follow those pursuits ipiite suc- 
cessfully until he embarked in his present 
business at Atlanta in i8i;4. He has a 
well-stocked stable, and recei^■es a liberal 
patronage. Upright and reliable in his 
Ijusiness dealings, he has gained the con- 
fidence of all with whom he has come in 
contact. In his jioliticai affiliations he is a 
Republican, and in his social relations is a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, the Rebekahs and the Modern 
Woodmen of America. 



GEORGE ^'ERRY 



George Verrv. now lix'ing retired in At- 
lanta, Illinois, has spent his entire life in this 
state. His life is an exemplification of the 
fact that there are no rules fm" building 



characters, and none for achieving" success. 
The man who can rise from the ranks to a 
l)osition of eminence is he who can see and 
utilize the op]>ortunities that surround his 
path. The essential conditions of human 
life are e\er the same, the surroundings of 
inili\iduals differ but slightly. When one 
passes another on the highway of life it is 
liecause he has the power to use advantages 
which i)rob;iljl\' encompass the whole human 
race. 

A nati\-e of Illinois. !Mr. A'erry w'as born 
in Tazewell count}- on the 13th of April, 
1851, and is a worthy representative of a 
good old Xew England family. His father. 
\\ illia.m A. \'erry. was born Januar}' 17, 
i8i<). in ^Massachusetts, of A\hich state his 
grandfather. William C. Verry. was also a 
nati\e. his birth occurring in Boston, May 
30, 1795. The great-grandfather, who also 
liore the name of \\'illiam, was likewise born 
in Massachusetts, and took a prominent part 
in the I'ievolutionary war. At the age of 
twent}-two years \\'illiam C. \'err}- mar- 
ried Miss Luciuda Hortim. of ^Massachusetts. 
In the fall of 1822 they removed with their 
famil}- to' Illinois, and first located in Bond 
county, but the following }ear took u]) their 
residence in ]M(jrgan county, being among 
the earliest settlers of that locality. There 
the grandfather entered land and engaged in 
farming. 

William A. \'erry was reared upon his 
father's farm in Morgan county, and ac- 
cpured his education in a log school-house 
of the neighborhood. On attaining his ma- 
joritv he left the parental roof and started 
out to make his own way in the world. He 
was married October _'o. i84J.to Miss Sarah 
Ann Farnsworth, a native of Missouri, and 
a daughter of Enos and Frances Farnsworth. 
After his marriage ]Mr. \'erry was furnished 
with a team of horses ruul wagon, and in 




GEORGE VERRY. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



277 



1843 li^ removed to Tazewell county, taking 
up his residence in a small frame house on a 
tract of forty acres of land which he had pur- 
chased. Meeting with excellent success in 
his farming operations, he added to this 
property from time to time until he owned 
twenty-four hundred acres of valuable land. 
He was not only one of the most prosi>erous 
and substantial farmers of his community, 
hut was also one of its most prominent and 
influential citizens. He died in Tazewell 
countv ]\lav 21, i8gS. and his wife passed 
awav on the 22d of ^larch. the same year. 
Thev were the parents of six children, four 
of whom are now living: William E., 
George, Elon F. and Frances. 

Our subject attended school near his 
bovhiKid home, and received a good ]iracti- 
cal education. Reared on a farm, he early 
acquired an excellent knowledge of agricul- 
tural pursuits, and he made that occupation 
his life work. He remained at home until 
twentv-one years of age. and then removed 
to a farm belonging to his father in Alount 
Hope township. ^IcLean connty, Illinois. 
For manv years he devoted his time and at- 
tention to his farming interests, and also en- 
saered in stock-raising; to some extent. His 
efforts were crowned with success, so that 
ti>day he is one of the most substantial citi- 
zens of Logan county, owning seven hun- 
dred and eighty acres of improved land. In 
1891 ~Sh\ A'errv decided it was time to take 
a rest, and accordingly he erected a beautiful 
and commodious residence in Atlanta at a 
cost of several thousand dollars, where he 
and his most estimable wife are now spend- 
ing their days in ease and comfort. Al- 
though retired from the more active pur- 
suits of life, he still looks after his many 
interests. 

On the 8th of October, 1874, Air. Verry 
was united in marriage with Miss Emma 



A. Grain, a daughter of William D. and 
Martha ( AIcAIillan) Grain, who were natives 
iif Kentucky, and were descendants of old 
and prominent families of the Blue Grass 
state. To i\Ir. and Airs. Verry were born 
two children : Edna F., who is now taking a 
classical course at the Chicago L'niversity; 
and Nora E., who died August 28, 1876. 
Mrs. Veny is a member of the Alethodist 
Episcopal church, while the daughter holds 
membership in the Baptist church. 

Socially Air. \"erry is a member of At- 
lanta Lodge, No. 165, -V. F. & A. AI., Chap- 
ter Xo. 188, R. A. AI. ; and Lincoln Com- 
mandery, No. 51, K. T. He is of a retir- 
ing disposition, ne\er pushing himself for- 
ward or seeking publicity, but giving strict 
attention tO' his personal affairs. A life of 
honest toil is a good stepping-stone to pros- 
perity and merits a rest in the prime of life, 
giving time and means for the enjoyments 

of life. 

■*—*■ 

PHILIP G. AHRENS. 

The biography of very many of the suc- 
cessful and leading agriculturists of any lo- 
calitv tells the same story, that of energy, 
lionesty and industry well repaid. This is 
the case in the present instance, for Philip 
G. Ahrens in early life was forced by cir- 
cumstances tcT make his own wa)' in the 
world, and in the few intervening years has 
become the manager of a large estate and the 
owner of an improved property in another 
state, while he enjoys the esteem and confi- 
dence of those with whom he has spent 
many years. 

The birth of Air. Ahrens occurred in 
Cass county. Illinois, April 27, 1862, and he 
is a son of Henry J. and Caroline Ahrens, 
the former of whom died in Sedgwick coun- 



278 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ty, Kansas, in 1893, at the age of seventy- 
seven, wliile tlie latter, at the age of sixty- 
five, hves in Kansas upon one of the farms 
})iiirchased b\- lier husband. They had a 
family of four children, namely : \\'illiam, 
who was a farmer, unmarried, and died in 
Decatur in 1872; Lena, who is the wife of 
Paul Hartwig and resides in East Lincoln 
township; Henry, who lives a retired life in 
Or\-il township; and Philip, who is the sub- 
ject of this sketch. The parents were na- 
ti\-es of German}- and came to .\merica 
when quite _\'()ung. The_\' were married in 
St. Louis and always followed farming, lirst 
in Cass county, Illinois, but later in Macon 
county and then in Logan. From this 
county Mr. and ^Irs. .'vhrens removed to 
Kansas, where he purchased a ime-half sec- 
tion of land in Sedgwick county, which he 
improved, and although he had reached 
.America a poor young man. at the time of 
his death lie was considered one of the sub- 
stantial citizens of his l(icality. He was a 
Methodist in religious faith, and \vas a Re- 
publican in ]jolitics. l.ieing a great admirer 
of President Lincoln. He ga\-e his children 
as good educational acK'antages as he could 
afford, and was alwa\"s interested in their 
welfare. 

Philip G. .\.hrens attended school botli in 
Macon and L(_)gan counties, and imtil he 
was twenty-one _\-ears old remained at home, 
starting out then to work on the neighbor- 
ing farms by the month. For tw(j years he 
worked and saved his wages, accumulating 
quite a sum. In 1885 he was united in mar- 
riage of Miss AntoinetteNeibuhr, who was 
born in McLean county, in 1863. and who 
was a daughter of Simon and Frances Nie- 
]_)uhr. I)oth of whom li\e retired in Logan 
county. Mr. Niebuhr was a large land- 
owner, possessing about fifteen hundred 
acres in Logan countv. Six children still 



survive of the family born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Niebuhr, namely: Laura, wife of John 
Richmond, who lives in Fort Scott, Kansas; 
Antoinette, wife of Mr. Ahrens; Alexander, 
a resident of Peoria; Josephine, wife of 
Eden C. Perkins, of Lincoln ; Clara, at 
home ; and also Adelia, at home. This 
family enjoyed e.xce])tion educational advan- 
tages, both in McLean and Logan counties, 
and one s<in and two daughters were edu- 
cated at .\nn .\rbor, Michigan. 

'i'o Mr. and Mrs. Ahrens two children 
ha\-e been l)orn. — Logan C. and Hugo H., 
both (jf whom attend school. Following his 
marriage our subject engaged in farming 
for one year in Prairie Creek township, and 
then mo\e<l to Sedgwick countv, Kansas, 
where he lived on his father's land during 
the following year. Returning to Logan 
county, he carried on farming in Prairie 
Creek and Orvil townships for thirteen 
years, coming then to Chester township, in 
1899, where he rented a large farm, con- 
sisting of three Inuidred acres, owned l.iy 
F. C. ^\'. Koehnle, on section 19, and here 
Mr. Ahrens operates on an extensi\-e scale, 
carrying on general farming. He owns 
and rents a fine eight^'-acre farm, well im- 
proved, in ]\Iahaska county, Iowa. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican, and was assessor of 
Or\-il townshi]) one year. The family is 
conn.ected with the Methodist church in re- 
ligious belief, and all are highh" esteemed 
here. 



FREDERICK REISE. 



On b'eljru; 



17, 1888, there passed 



away at his home in Atlanta the gentleman 
whose name heads this re\iew. Loved and 
respected by all, his death ^\■as a sad blow 
not onlv to his own immediate famih- but 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



!79 



to the entire community in wliich lie had 
so long made his home. 

A native of Germany, liis early school 
advantages were limited, but all through 
life he made the best of his opportunities, so 
that when he was at last called to his final 
rest Logan county lost one whose place will 
never be filled. He was but a boy when 
his parents, Frederick and Caroline Reise, 
decided that the new world offered better 
ath'antages to those who were ambitious to 
succeed in life. The passage across the 
broad Atlantic was made in a sailing-vessel, 
and after many days they finally landed in 
this c<iuntry. Here his father engaged in 
farming, and when he was finally called to 
the great beyond his death took from the 
rolls of America's adopted sons one who 
was at all times read_\- and willing to do his 
dut)-, nut only to his family but U> his coun- 
try. 

Our subject was one of a famil_\- of chil- 
dren that as soon as they reached man's 
estate scattered to different parts of the 
country. Air. Reise in early life received 
a thorough training" in agricultural ])ursuits. 
and perhaps this, together with his wonder- 
ful store of energy, explains win- his life 
was such a success. 

In July, 1 85 1, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Victorine Jaquine. Her 
parents were members of a distinguished 
French family, and her birth occurred 
within fourteen miles of the city of Paris. 
^Vhen very young she was brought by her 
parents to this country and her father set- 
tled near Peoria, Illinois, where he became 
an extensive farmer and stock raiser, wiiich 
occu])atio'n he followed up to the time of his 
death. His wife only survived him a short 
time, when she, too, was called away. The 
marriage of Mr. and Airs. Reise resulted 
in the birth of ten children, as follows : 



George. Julia, Augusta, Lizzie, Emma, 
Clara, Harriman, Edwin, Frank and Fred. 

Beginning on a small scale, as nearly all 
our young men did in those early days, Air. 
Reise steadily prospered in his chosen pro- 
fession until at the time of his death he was 
one of the most substantial farmers of Lo- 
gan county. One had but to visit his farm 
and \iew the well-tilled fields to find the 
reason of his success, as his was a model 
farm. 

In early life he united with the Luther- 
an church, and from that time until his 
death he was one of the most faithful fol- 
lowers of the di\-ine teachings. Airs. Reise 
is a de\-out member of the Catholic church 
of Atlanta. 

As a lad Air. Riese came to America, 
and with no capital, started out in a strange 
lantl to o\ercome the difficulties and ob- 
stacles in the path to prosperit\-. His 
youthful dreams of success were realized, 
and he was able to leave his famil_\- a com- 
fortable competence. He is gone, and no 
more is his fannliar figure seen, but his 
memor)- will al\va_\'s remain and his family 
may well be proud of the record that is left 
as a monument to his memorv. 



LYAIAX O. BUZZARD. 

L)man O. Buzzartl, chief of the night 
police force of Lmcoln, is proud to claim 
Illinois as his native state, his l)irth having 
occurred near \'andalia, Fayette county, 
February 18, 1850. His father, Ahin Buz- 
zard, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 
1834, of (ierman ancestry, and came to this 
state in 1846. Ten years later he became 
a resident of Logan county, and is now liv- 
ing a retired life in Xew Holland. During 



2 8o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his acti\'e lousiness career he followed farm- 
ing principally, but also engaged in the mer- 
cantile and livery business. Through his 
own unaided efforts he has succeeded in ac- 
cumulating a comfiirtable competence by 
his farming operations and business \en- 
tures, and is now able to lay aside all busi- 
ness cares and spend the remainder of his 
life is ease and (juiet. He has ne\-er taken 
a very active part in politics, but has always 
supported the Republican party. In early 
manhood he married ]\Iiss Jane .Smith, who 
\yas also born in Holmes county, Ohio, May 
8, 1833, and is of English descent. Unto 
them were born ten children, of whom two 
died in infancv. ^Nlarilla, born in 1848, 
married Charles Phillips, formerly a resi- 
dent of Elkhart, Illinois, and died in 1874. 
Those living are as follows: L}-man O., 
our subject ; Texas A., who is doing busi- 
ness at the Union Stockyards in Chicago: 
George and Schuyler, l)oth residents of New 
Holland, this county; Ella, wife of Edward 
Johnson, of Havana, Illinois: Alice, wife 
of Charles Crane, of Aurora Springs, Mis- 
souri: and i\Iay, wife of Charles Kirkpat- 
rick, a liuilding contractor of Lincoln. 
They were all reared at home and educated 
in the public schools of Logan county. 

]\[r. Buzzard, of this review, attemled 
the ]3ul)lic schools of Elkhart. At the age 
of seventeen he left home and went to Kan- 
sas. He learned the liutcher's trade in Kan- 
sas City, and since that time has followed 
that occupation uninterruptedly. After 
spending three years in Kansas City he re- 
turned to Lincoln, and in 187^ went to Chi- 
cago. From 1884 until 1889 he was in 
Memphis, Tennessee, and then returned to 
Chicago, where he made his home until 
1893. Returning to Logan county, he 
spent two years at New Holland, and in 
1896 took up his residence in Lincoln, where 



THOMAS O. SNYDER. 

For more than a (|uarter of a century 
Thomas O. Snyder has been a representative 
of the building interests of Mount Pulaski 
and Logan county, and in the line of his 
l/msiness has contrilnUed in large measures 
to the impro\-ement and sulistantial deA'lop- 



he has since li\ed. During all this time he 
has engaged in the butcher business. In 
IMay, 1901, he was appointed police cap- 
tain of the night force, and is now tilling 
that ofiice in a UKJSt capable and satisfac- 
tory manner. 

At Peoria, in 1876. ]\Ir. Buzzard mar- 
ried Miss Aha Frazer, who died in (Jctijber, 
1 88 J, at Chicago, leaving one daughter, 
Goldie. .She was born in 1878 and is ]i\-- 
ing with her maternal grandparents in 
Peoria, being a teacher in the pulilic schools 
of that city. She gratluated there and has ' 
since engaged in teaching. ]\Ir. Buzzard . 
was again married in Chicago, in 189 1, his 
second uni(jn being with Miss Leo Barrett, 
who was l)orn in Allaany, New York, but 
was reared and educated in Chicago. Her 
parents are both deceased. 

On national issues Mr. Buzzard ahvays 
supports the Republican party, but at local 
elections \'otes for the men whom be believes 
best (|ualitied for the offices, regardless of 
party lines. Pie is a member of the blue 
lodge of the Masonic fraternity at Lincoln, 
having been made a Mason in 1876. He 
gives his aid to all clnu'cli and philanthroi)ic 
work and uses his influence for the better- 
ment of the community in which he lives. 
He is a great reader and keeps well posted 
on current exents as well as the best litera- 
ture of the daw 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2SI 



nient nf this section of tlie state. He was 
l.uirn in the cit_\- which is still his home, 
Jul)- 5, 1853, and on the paternal side is of 
German lineage, his great-grandfather hav- 
ing heen lidrn in Germany, whence he cross- 
ed the ocean to the new world, Ijecoming 
the progenitor of the family on this side 
the Atlantic. George Snyder, the grand- 
father, was born in Pennsyhania, and 
Charles W. Snyder, the father of our sub- 
ject, w as a n.ati\-e of Schuykill county, Penn- 
s\l\ania, where his birth occurred Decem- 
l>er 9, 1825. After arriving at years of 
maturity he married Jemima J. Baker, who 
was biirn in Sangamon county, Illinois, in 
1831, a daughter of Thomas Baker, who 
was Ixirn in Kentucky and became one of 
the pioneers of the Prairie state. He mar- 
ried Miss Delay. 

Iveared in his parents home, Thcimas O. 
Sn_\-(ler attended the public schools of Mount 
Pulaski, where he continued his studies un- 
til fifteen years of age. He was afterward 
empliiyetl in \arious ways wherelj\- he might 
earn an honest living and eventually learned 
the carpenter's trade, wdiich he has since 
fiillowed as a life work. In 1872 he began 
contracting and building on his own account 
and for twenty-five years has been a mem- 
lier I if the firm of Ralston & Snyder, enter- 
ing into i)artnership with W. H. Ralston — 
a connection that has been maintained 
through a quarter of a centry, the firm oc- 
cui^ying a foremost position among the con- 
tractors and l)uilders of this part of the coun- 
ty. They have taken and promptly executed 
many contracts, and fine residences and other 
substantial luiildings of Mount Pulaski and 
the sm'rounding countrv stand as monu- 
ments to their skill and handiwork. During 
the l)usy season of the year they emplo}- 
Irom fifteen to eighteen men. and they do 
much of their finishing work both b_\' hand 



and machinery. Their reliabilit\- and faith- 
fulness to tlie terms of contract ha\e won 
fcjr them a large patronage, bringing them 
a desirable income. 

In 1881 Mr. Snyder was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Harriet A. Shriver, a native 
of Logan county and a daughter of James 
and Sarah (Mann) Shriver. They now 
ha\"e four children, a son and three daugh- 
ters : Fred H., Lulu A., Jessie H. and 
Ailine ]\I. In his political ^•iews Mr. Sny- 
der is a stalwart Republican and has filled 
some local offices, ser\ing for one term as 
tax collector and for three years as a mem- 
ber of the school board. He takes a deep in- 
terest in everything pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the communit\- and is a progressive 
and public-spirited citizen. He belongs to 
the Modern Woodmen Camp of Mount Pu- 
laski, and has out onl)* the regard of his 
l)rethren of the fraternity, Ijut of all who are 
familiar w ith his upright life. Industry and 
enterprise may be well termed his salient 
characteristics, for thev ha\e been the ac- 
tive factors in his long- and honorable busi- 
ness career, winning him a comfortable 
competence. 



FRAXIvLIX CLEVELAND ORTON. 

Franklin Cle\'eland C)rton, deceased, 
was for some years one of the most promi- 
nent and influential business men of Lin- 
coln, where he made his home until his 
death, which occurred August 20, 1900. He 
was born in Lebanon, New York, on the 
]6th of August, 1852, and was a son of Dr. 
L\'man O. and Julia C. Orton, who lirought 
their faniil}' to Illinois in 1855, and settled 
on a farm near Broad well, Logan county, 
\\here the father engaged in agricultural 
pursuits until 1864, and then removed to 



282 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Linciilii. Here he died in 1884. but his wife 
is still li\ing and now resides on Logan 
street. Li the family were two children 
who are still living: Samuel, a resident of 
Kansas City, Missouri; and Julia. 

During his boyhood Mr. Orton of this 
review took the full course in the Lincoln 
University, and afterward learned teleg- 
raphy at the Chicago & Alton Railroad sta- 
tion in Clinton in 1870. Subsequently he was 
made station agent of the Peoria, Decatur 
& Evansville Railroad and largely contrib- 
uted to the development of the company's 
business in this city. 

On the 17th of November, 1881, Mr. 
Orton was united in marriage with Miss 
Carrie Rutledge, daughter of Rev. \\illiam 
Rutledge, of Jacksonville, Illinois, and to 
them were born eight children, six of whom 
are living, namely: Virginia, Lyman O., 
Franklin C. ^^■illiam R., Louis S. and Ju- 
lian R. One son died in infancy, and 
Gladys died when about eighteen months 
old. ' 

]Mr. Orton became a stockholder and di- 
rector of the Lincoln National Bank in 
1885, and in July of the following year was 
elected cashier, which position he acceptably 
filled until January, 1892, when he was 
elected \ice-president and was succeeded by 
P. E. Kuhl as cashier. He was actively 
connected with the management of the bank 
until July, 1894, and continued to hold the 
office of vice-president up to the time of his 
death. In the meantime he became inter- 
ested in the grain business, being associ- 
ated with John \\'. Spellman, as successors 
to the firm of J. ?vl. Moloney & Company. 
Charles W. Spitly was admitted to a part- 
nership in the business in December, 1895, 
constituting the well known firm of Spell- 
man, Orton & Spitly of Lincoln. 

]\Ir. Orton was ill but a few davs before 



his death and was operated on fur appemli- 
citis with the hope of prolonging his life, but 
this proved of no avail, and he passed away, 
mourned not onlv by his immediate family, 
but also by his business associates and many 
friends. He was a de\-oted husband and an 
indulgent father, and a true and loyal 
friend. In boyhood he united with the 
Congregational church of Lincoln, and for 
se\'eral years was a faithful attendant on 
its services and a worker in the Sunday 
school. When that church was disbanded 
he dicl not transfer his membership to an_\- 
other church, but was always very friendly 
to all religious denominations, and con- 
tributed generously to the support of the 
gospel. His career was that of a remark- 
ably successful business man, indicating 
abilities and resources of an exceptional 
character. In his dealings he was ever 
prompt, relialile and entireh' trustw(^rthv, 
and although he gained a greater degree 
of success than came to many of his fellow 
townsmen, it was because he was very ener- 
getic, perse\'ering and capable in managing 

his affairs. 

< » » 

H. A. J. PAUL. 

H. A. J. Paul, a jirominent farmer of Or- 
\\l township, Logan count\', Illinois, has 
made his home in this county for nearly half 
a centur\'. He was born in Kentuckv, March 
30, 1832, and is a son of Edmund and 
Rachel (Gray) Paul, both natives of Ken- 
tucky In 1835 t'l^ family mo\ed to ^Mon- 
roe county. Indiana and there the father en- 
gaged in farming. He was also a cooper. 
carpenter and wagon maker by trade, and 
worked at these occupations in connection 
with farming in ^Monroe county, Indiana, 
until his death. The mother of our suliject 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



283 



also (lied in the same countx'. Eigiit cliil- 
tlren ci instituted their family and three came 
w est. namely : Catherine, now Mrs. AIcAIa- 
hon. a resident of Kansas: Elizabeth, now 
Airs. Robert Wdiitesell of McLean count}-, 
iumois: and Henrv A. J., our subject. The 
others were William: Taylor, who is now 
deceased : Rhoda and Sarah, both residents 
of Indiana; and Davis, who was drowned 
wnen about ten years of age. 

The education of Air. Faul was limited 
as he was obliged to assist his father on the 
nome farm and in the winter time after be- 
coming old enough he was obliged to work 
in the cooper shop. At the age of twenty, 
he started out in life on his own account and 
came west, direct to Logan county, Illinois, 
settling in Eminence township, where he 
worked as a farm hand for four years. The 
first winter he spent here he attended school. 

In 1855 he was married to Aliss Alary 
Hinkle. whi) was a native of Monroe county, 
Indiana, anfl a daugiiter of Jonathan and 
Catherine Hinkle, natives of South Carolina 
and Indiana, respectively. They made their 
hnme in Monroe countv. Indiana, where thev 
engaged in farming and both died there. 
Our subject and wife have five children, 
namely : Alice, wife of George Scott, of 
Boyington, Tazewell count\'. Illinois: Henrv. 
A\ho married Alyra Alathcws and resides on 
a farm in Tazewell county: J. J., who mar- 
ried Leona Miller and resides in Emden, 
this c<iunty, where he is engaged in the 
livery business: James E., who married Ida 
I'-dgar and resides in Delavan, Tazewell 
count}-, he Ijcing a laborer: and David, wIkj 
died at the age of three years. 

In December, 1855, Mr. Paul traded the 
eighty^acre farm in Orvil township which 
he had i)urchased while working in Emi- 
nence township, for another eighty ad- 
joining his present farm, known as 



the old Ryan estate. He then bought 
another eighty acres and began mak- 
ing improvements. Later he purchased 
more land and now owns one liundred and 
sixty-tive acres of rich farming land in the 
northern part of Orvil township, in addition 
to eight}- acres in Tazewell county, Illinois. 
Until a few years ago he carried on gen- 
eral farming, but he is now retired and rents 
nearly all the land, although he and his wife 
still reside on the home place. 

Mr. Paul has held several offices in the 
township, having been commissioner and 
school director for a long time. He is a 
\evy stanch Democrat in politics and has al- 
ways voted for the candidates of his party. 
Both he and his excellent wife are earnest 
members of the Christian church. Air. Paul 
is one of the early settlers in this part of the 
county and is well known. His prosperity 
is the result of his own efiforts, as when he 
came to this county he was in very limited 
circumstances and what he has to-dav. he 
has earned by hard work, good manage- 
ment and economy. 



ERVIN L. ADAAIS. 

Sound judgment combined with fine 
ability in mechanical lines has enabled the 
subject of this biography to l>ecofne one of 
the leading blacksmiths of Linciln. He 
was born in this city on the 22nd of Alav, 
1S67. and is a son of \A'illiam L. and Alaria 
I Hatch ) .Adams, the former a native of 
Do\-er, Alassachusetts, the latter of New 
York state. They were the parents of 
seven children, namely : John, a resideiit 
of .Vrkansas City, Kansas: Alargaret, wife 
of Joseph Johnson, of Nebraska; Ezekiel ; 
Xelson, who lives in Lincoln; Ervin, our 



284 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



subject; and Lillian, wife of Alonzo Smith, 
of Lincoln; and one who died in infancy. 
The family resided in ^lassachnsetts until 
1 86 1, when the parents, accompanied by 
'their five children came to Lincoln, Illinois. 
In this county the father engag^ed in farm- 
ing and dairying until i8(ji, when he laid 
aside all business cares and lived retired 
until his death, which occurred in 1896. 

Er\in L. .\dams acquired his early edu- 
cation in the comnum schools ot Lincoln, 
and also pursued a mechanical course of 
study at Scranton, Pennsylvania. He re- 
mained at home giving his father the benefit 
of his labors until tweraty years of age, and 
then worked for others for a few years. 
Learning the blacksmith's trade, he at length 
opened a shop in Lincoln, where he does 
machine, wagon and buggy repairing and 
general blacksmithing, making a specialty 
of horseshoeing. His simp is located at 
No. 116 Clinton street, and is one of the 
best in the city. 

JNIr. Adams was married, October 12, 
1892, to ]\Iiss Luella Burris, who was born 
in Illinois, in 1871, and was reared on a 
farm, her education being obtained in the 
public schools of the neighborhood. They 
..\e three children, two sons and one 
daughter, namely : Leonard \\'. .V., Emmet 
W. and Florence R. Mr. Adams owns a 
^•ery neat and comfortable residence on 
Clinton street. He is broad and liberal in 
his views and gives his support to all worthy 
enterprises for the good of the community 
in \\hich he lives. 



C. H. TURNER. 



C. H. Turner, cashier of the People's 
Bank of Atlanta, Illinois, was bom near that 
city on the 19th of January, 1852, and is a 



son of Allen and Elizabeth Turner, who have 
been dead for several years, the former pass- 
ing awav in 1856, the latter in iS');. In the 
family were three children, namely ; Theo- 
dore B., who was born in 1S50, and died in 
August, 1901, in \\'aco, Texas; Charles H., 
our subject: and Belle, who was born in 
1854, and died in 1858. 

C. H. Turner was reared and educated in 
this count}-, and attended the nonual college 
at Normal, Illinois. On the 22d of Decem- 
ber, 1875, he was united in marriage with 
]\Iiss Ella Tenney, a daughter of Dr. Jerome 
B. and [Martha Tenney, and three children 
blessed this union : Deane Clifford, born 
July 15,-1881 : Hazel Duane. born December 
10, 1883; and Walter Carlyle, born Novem- 
ber 18, 1890. The oldest child died in 1883, 
at the age of two years. 

In 1874 Mr. Turner entered the Ex- 
change Bank of Atlanta as bookkeeper, and 
continued with that institution until July, 
1S87, at which time the business was sold to 
other parties. In the fall of that year he or- 
ganized the People's Bank as a limited part- 
nership, with a strong directory, and has 
since served as its cashier, the other officers 
being George ^^^ Funk, president ; E. F. 
\'errv, vice-president ; and R. F. Ouisen- 
berry, teller. This bank has met with almost 
phenomenal success, which in a great meas- 
lu'e is due to the able management od oiw 
subject, who has worked his way upward 
to a foremost position among the prominent 
financiers of this section of the state. His 
life demonstrates what may be accomplished 
through energ}', careful management, keen 
foresight and the utilization of powers with 
which nature has endowed one and the opn 
])ortunities with which hte times surround 
him. In politics Mr. Turner is a Republican. 
Fraternally he is a ]\Iason and Odd Fellow, 
and has passed the chairs of both orders. 




C. H. TURNER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



287 



LYMAX OSGOOD ORTOX. :^I. D. 

Among the old and honored residents of 
Lincoln was Dr. Lyman Osgood Orton, who 
was widely and favorably known through- 
out Logan county. He was born in Hamil- 
ton, Xew York, in 1819, his parents being 
Thomas and Beulali (Rockwood) Orton. 
The father was a native of X^ew Hampshire, 
and was of English descent. The Doctor 
was educated at the State L'niversity of X'ew 
York, and after his graduation entered the 
medical college at Fairfield, that state, where 
he was also graduated. 

At ]\Iadison he was married in 1S41 to 
Miss Julia Cleaveland, who was also born in 
that place in 1S17. and is a daughter of Gen- 
eral Erastus Clea\eland, one of the pioneers 
of central Xew York. She was educated at 
Oxfijrd Academy, and in the schools of 
Waterville. Xew York. Unto the Doctor 
and his wife were born seven children, three 
of whom reached man and womanhood: 
Samuel Clea\eland. now a resident of Kan- 
sas City, ^lissouri : Julia R. ; and Frank 
Cleaveland. whose sketch appears on another 
page of this volume. These children were 
all born in Lebanon, Xew York. 

For fifteen years after his marriage Dr. 
Orton was engaged in practice at that place, 
and in 1855 came to Illinois. The following 
>ear he located on a farm two miles south of 
Broadwell in Logan county, and practiced 
medicine to a limited extent among his ac- 
quaintances for several years. Init finally 
withdrew entirely from his profession in 
1865. He was a well-read physician and 
able practitioner, but always disliked the pro- 
fessicjn. 

The last twenty years of his life were 
passed in Lincoln, where he died April 19, 
1S84. It was truly said of him that as a 
citizen he was universally respected; as a 

16 



neighbor and friend he was beloved ; as a 
husband he was kind, affectionate and con- 
siderate ; as a parent he was a well-spring of 
tenderness and devotion : as a man he was 
conscientiously just, humane, llowing with 
the milk of human kindness, incapable of 
wrong. It is therefore but fitting that he be 
accorded a place in the history of his adopted 
county. His widow still survives him, and 
although now eighty-four years of age is still 
in possession of all her faculties. Like her 
husband she is universally respected and 
esteemed. 



CARTAIX CHRISTOPHER C. MASOX'. 

Among those deserving of prominent 
mention in the annals of Logan countv is 
Captain Christopher C. ilason, a veteran of 
both the ^Mexican and Civil wars. His earlv 
home was on the other side of the Atlantic, 
for he was born in Leeds, England, October 
2, i8-?o. his parents being William and Eliza- 
beth ( Stonehotise) [Mason. In 1827 the 
lather and two brothers came to the United 
States and located in Philadelphia, Penn- 
syhania. where the}- were joined Ijy the re- 
mainder of the family a year later. There 
the father worked at the carpenter's trade 
for a time, and on leaving that citv went to 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he spent two years. 
He was next a resident of St. Louis, ^Nlis- 
souri, and from there moved to Springfield. 
Illinois, in 1 832. Two years later he came 
to Logan county, and entered one hundred 
and forty acres of land on Salt creek, for 
which he paid the government price of one 
dollar and a quarter per acre. L'pon that 
farm he made his home, engaged in agricult- 
m-al ])ursuits until his death in 1840. His 
wife and family subsequently removed to ^It. 
Pulaski, where she died in 18^0. 



288 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Captain Mason was quite small on the 
emigration of the family to the new world, 
and his education was principally receix'ed in 
the public schools of Phila(lel])hia. He ac- 
companied his parents on their various re- 
movals and on coming to Logan county, Illi- 
nois, worked with his father at the carpen- 
ter's trade, being able to do all the work then 
required in building a house from cellar to 
garret. 

In 1846 Captain Mason married Miss 
Louisa I. Laughery, who was born in this 
countv. in 183 1. and is a daughter of David 
and Elizabeth (Williams) Laughery, natives 
<if Ohio and Virginia, respectively, and pio- 
neers of Logan county. Tlieir entire mar- 
ried life has been passed in Mt. Pulaski. Five 
children came to brighten their home, name- 
Iv : Adelia. wife of Samuel Curtis, of De- 
catur. Illinois; Florence, wife of William 
Boyd, of Decatur; May. wife of John H. 
Oren. of Decatur; Grace, wife of Charles 
Zigler. of Chicago; and Lulu, wife of Her- 
man Keene, of Elkhart, Indiana. 

During the Mexican war, Caiitain Mason 
enlisted in Company I, Fourth Illinois Vol- 
unteer Infantry, under command of Captain 
John C. Hurt and Colonel E. D. Baker, and 
he participated in the battles of \'era Cruz, 
Cerro Gordo and several other engagements, 
being in active service twelve months. On 
his return to Mt. Pulaski, he resumed work 
at the carpenter's trade, which he continued 
to follow throughout his active business life. 
When President Lincoln issued his call for 
seventv-five thousand men to ser\e three 
months at the opening of the Civil war. our 
subject again entered the service of his 
adopted country, and was commissioned b\- 
Governor Yates as first lieutenant of Com- 
l)anv H, Seventh Illinois \'olunleer Infantry. 
Colonel John Cook, of Springfield, com- 
manding the regiment. On the e.xpiration of 



his term of enlistment he was honorably dis- 
charged and returned home. The Captain 
continued to work at his trade until 1880, 
since which time he has lived a retired life. 
Many buildings in Mt. Pulaski stand as mon- 
uments to his architectural skill and ability, 
including the Christian church of that place. 
Captain Mason laid out or sub-divided twen- 
ty acres which is known as Mason's addition 
to Mt. Pulaski, and has sold the larger part 
himself, and he also has owned considerable 
farm land that he has disposed of. He is 
one of the oldest residents of this section. 

He is to-dav an honored memlier of Sam- 
uel Walker Post. Xo. 205, G. A. R. In poli- 
tics he was originallv an old line W big. but 
joined the Re])ublican party on its organiza- 
tion, and has since seen no occasion for trans- 
ferring his allegiance to any other political 
partv. For sixty-se\en years he has been a 
resident of Logan count}-, and has been 
prominently identified with its growth and 
upbuilding. After a useful and honorable 
career he can well afford to lay aside all 
business cares and .li\e in ease and retire- 
ment. 

< » » 

\MLLIAM B. STROUD, Jr. 

The gentleman whose name introduces 
this review is one of Logan county's native 
sons and is a worthy representative of one 
of her prominent ])ioneer families. He was 
born in Eminence townshi]). May 15. 1853, 
and is the onK' child of Smith and Priscilla 
15. (Thompson) Stroud. His maternal 
grandparents were Shared and Catherine 
( Staff'ord ) Thompson, who came to this 
County from Tennessee in 1829, and 
located in what is now Eminence town- 
ship, being among the first settlers 
of that localit)'. Our subject's father 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



289 



was born in Tennessee, on the 15th 
of October, 1820, and when fourteen years 
of age came north witli his parents, Peter 
and Rebecca (Green) Stroud, the journey 
Ijeing made in a two-wlieel cart. This fam- 
ily also located in Eeminence township, and 
took a very active and prominent part in 
its development and upbuilding. They en- 
dured most of the hardships and privations 
incident to life on the frontier, and amid 
such surroundings the father of our sub- 
ject grew to manhood. His education was 
limited from the fact that he was obliged 
to assist in the farm duties when a boy, but 
he could rapidly solve difficult problems 
mentally, and was always considered one 
of the most accurate stock judges in the 
county. He was an active church worker, 
being identified with the Christian church, 
and was president or director of the Anti- 
Thief Society of Atlanta, Logan county 
from its organization until his death, which 
occurred November 18, 1877. His upright, 
honorable course in life gained for him the 
confidence of all who knew him, and he was 
held in the highest regard by the people of 
the communitv in which he so long" made 
his home. After his death the widow re- 
sided on the old JTome place on section i 
until her death, which occurred ^lay 16, 
1901. 

William B. Stroud acquired his ])rim- 
ary education in the district schools of Emi- 
nence townshii), and also took a full course 
in the high school of Atlanta. Immediately- 
after his graduation in 1871 he entered Eu- 
reka College, at Eureka, Illinois, where he 
completed his education. During his en- 
tire Ijusiness career, he has followed the oc- 
cupation of farming with marked success, 
and is one of the most progressive and up- 
to-date agriculturists of Eminence township, 
where he owns seven hundred acres of well 



impro\ed and valuable land. His home, 
which is pleasantly located on section 12, 
is a true residence with all modern improve- 
ments, and everything about the place is in 
keeping with the same. 

Mr. Stroud was married, June 29, 1873, 
to Miss Paralee Alountjoy, a daughter of 
Robert F. and Susan Mount joy, one of 
Logan county's old and prominent families. 
They were natives of Kentucky and came 
to Eminence at an early day, where they 
passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stroud became the parents of five chil- 
dren, those living being Marion E., born 
June 2, 1874, married Miss Ollie Mount- 
joy, a daughter of Frank and Henrietta 
]\Iountjoy. of Atlanta, and they ha\'e two 
children, Mildred F., born June 2;^. 1897, 
and Paul D., born November 24, 1900. 
Smith L. born July 23, 1877, is now a stu- 
dent in the State University at Champaign. 
He has also taken a two years' course in 
Cornell College, New "\'ork, where he in- 
tends to finish later. Anabel F. was born 
Feliruary 9, 1881. graduated from the At- 
lanta High School in 1901. and is now tak- 
ing a course in music at Eureka College, 
Eureka, Illinois. The mother of these chil- 
dren passed away March 7, 1890, and on 
Alay 18, 1892. Mr. Stroud was united in 
marriage with Miss Inez, daughter of Jo- 
seph and Catherine (Moyer) Gaston, na- 
tives of Ohio, who came to tliis countv in 
early life. Here they were married and set- 
tled in Eminence township, where thev 
passed the remainder of their li\-es. The 
father died May 2, 1901, and the mother 
was called to her final rest April 22, 1882. 
By Mr. Stroud's second marriage has been 
born two children: Lucile G.. Ijorn March 
12, 1894; and Maud M., born December 8, 
1896. 

For thirteen vears I\Ir. Stroud has been 



29Ck 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



secretary ui the Atlanta Unimi Fair and is 
now treasurer of tiie Atlanta Anti-Thief 
Society of Logan cmnity. He also 
ser\-e(l as clerk of the school hoard in dis- 
trict No. I, for fourteen years. In the spring- 
of 1899 Mr. Stroud began agitating- a rural 
free deli\-ery route through Eminence 
township, and on October 4 of the same 
}-ears the carrier made his first trip. The 
route is from Atlanta and co^-ers twenty-fi\-e 
miles in the north half of Eminence town- 
ship, supplying- over one hundred families 
with the daily mail. This route, wliicli is 
No. 1 . fron-i Atlanta, was the first estab- 
lished in Logan county. As a progressixe 
and puhlic-si)irited citizen, Mr. Stroud gives 
his supi)ort to all enterprises calculated to 
advance the nioral, educational or material 
welfare of his township and county. He is 
one of the furemost members of the Chris- 
tian church of luuinence township, and has 
served as elder in the sanie for fifteen years. 
In politics he is a stanch ]_)eniocrat. He 
is a pleasant, genial gentleman who makes 
many friends, and is highly respected and 
esteen-ied bv all who know him. 



EDWARD ILLS. 

This well-kniiwn foundryman is one of 
the important factors in the business circles 
of Lincoln, and his life is an exmplification 
of the term "tiie dignity of labor." The 
possibilities that .America offers to her citi- 
zens he has utilized, and though he came to 
this countr\- in liniited circumstances he has 
steadiK- and persex-eringlv wi irked his wa_\- 
upward, leaving the ranks of the man\- to 
stand aniong the successful few. 

Mr. Ties was born in South Wales, Sep- 
tember 1 J, 1838, and is a son of Henry and 
Sarah (Wade) lies. The father was bum 



in 1813, and is now li\ing in Englanil. He 
lias been a very active and busy n-ian, and is 
still engaged in business as a florist, which 
occupation he has made his life work. His 
wife, who was burn in 1816, died in icjoo. 
They had eight children, four sons and four 
daughters, of whom William H. died in 
J-'ngland. in .Mav, 1901. Those li\ing- are 
Rlioda, Martha, Thomas, Emily, Matilda, 
lidward and John, all residents of England 
with cxce])tion cif our subject. 

J'.dward lies was reared and educated in 
that country, attending school until rJ.xiut 
thirteen years of age, when he com- 
menced work in a tin factory and 
remained there three years. He was 
next emplo_\-ed in a foundry, where 
he thoroughly learned the machinist's trade, 
and C(.inlinued w 1 irk in England until i88f). 
During- that year he crossed the broad .\t- 
lantic, and after spending alxnit a year in 
Clinton, Illinois, he came to Lincoln, and 
emliarked in business on his own account, 
lie is a practical foundryman, Iiaxing thor- 
iiughly -mastered his trade, and is a com- 
petent wnrkman in both iron and brass. 
Purchasing property, he erected the Iniilcl- 
ings now- occupied by him on Clinton street 
and now has a well etiuipped plant for doing; 
general jobbing work. He started at the 
\er\' biiltnm. but has steadih- worked his 
way upward, ha\-ing made a success nf his 
labors. He now- receives quite a liberal 
patrcinage from the jieople of Lincoln and 
Logan ciiunt\-. P>esides his business prop- 
erty he owns a pleasant home in Lincoln. 

In Ijoston, Alassachusetts, Mr. lies was 
married, in -\pril 1889, to Miss Abbie 
.Splain, who was l)orn, reared and educated 
in Ireland, and was a young woman when 
she came tn .\merica. They now- have 
three children : k'rances anil Sadie, who 
are attending schocjl ; and .Xbbie, at In mie. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



291 



]VIr. lies gives his ix.ilitical support tn tlie 
Republican party, and is identitied with the 
Improved Order of Ived ]\Ien and the 
Knig'lits of Pythias fraternities, l-'or six 
vears he lias lieen a member of the Lincoln 
tire deijartnient and fonnerl_\- served as 
lieutenant. Religiously he is a member of 
the Presbyterian church, and gives liberally 
to the support of church work. As a pub- 
lic-spirited citizen be su])ports all enter- 
l)rises which he believes calculated to ad- 
vance the general welfare. He is a self- 
made man. wlio started nut in life a poor 
liM\- ;ind has h;id to overcome many ob- 
stacles, but is now on the highroad to suc- 
cess. 



TOHX W. S^HTH. 



J')hn W. .Smith, the well known editor 
and proprietor of the Lincoln Times, was 
born on the loth of January, 1857. in Clin- 
ton, JNIonroe county, Missouri, and is a son 
of Rev. J. D. and Emilv J- ( Chapman ) 
Smith. The former was a native of Vir- 
ginia, the latter of Kentucky. The parents 
were married in Missouri, where they still 
reside, the father being still active in the 
ministry of the ]\Iissi(jnary Baptist church 
there. Thev are most estimable people. 

The subject of this sketch was educated 
in -the public schools of his native state and 
by private instruction. After living in 
Cran\'ille, Missouri, for a time, he removed 
to Salisbur\-, that state, where he was en- 
gaged in business, and later conducted a 
■clothing store at Paris, Missouri, where he 
served as mayor of the city, and as a mem- 
ber of the city council a number of years. 
In the spring of 1896 he came to Lincoln, 
Illinois, and purchased the Lincoln Times, 
which is the oklest paper published in Lo- 



gan county and has a large circulation in 
Lincoln and the surrounding country. It 
is a six column, eight page weekl\-, printed 
by electric jjower, and is a bright, newsy 
sheet, ably edited. 

On the 30th of November, 1879, ]\Ir. 
Smith was united in marriage with Miss 
Allie C. Kip])er, of (jran\-ille, Missouri, a 
daughter of j. C. Kipper, and to them has 
been born four children; Roger L., who 
is now assiting his father in the office : Mar- 
shall Rex, who is attending school; Irma 
.Sibyl, at home; and Xadine, the first born, 
w h(i died in infancw 

Jn his political proclivities Mr. Smith 
is a stalwart supporter of the Democratic 
party and its principles, and both personally 
and in his editorial utterances he has wield- 
ed a potent influence in furthering the inter- 
est of its cause. He enjoys a wide ac- 
quaintance and marked popularity in the. 
city of his adoption, and is prijminent Ijoth 
in business and social circles. Fraternally 
he is a member of Lincoln Lodge, Xo. 210, 
A. F. & A. M., and of Paris Lodge, Xo. 
19, I. O. O. F., while religiously both he 
and his wife have been members of the 
Christian church for manv )'ears. Mr. 
Smith is a fine nnisician, ha\-ing been thor- 
oughly educated by the loest vocalists of his 
nati\'e state, and for a number of vears was 
leader of one of the best choirs in Missouri, 
at Paris. He was also leader of the Chris- 
tian church choir at Linc(]ln until his health 
failed. 



KLAAS ]\IA.MMEX. 

Klaas Mamnien, one of the prosjierous 
farmers of Prairie Creek township, Logan 
county, owning one hundred and sixty acres 
of fine farming land, has resided in this 



292 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county since June lo, 1867. He was born 
in Germany, May i, 1844. his parents being 
Christ and Annie ]\Iammen, who always 
lived in Germany where the father Avas a 
general farmer. His death occurred in 
1853, while the mother died about 1887. 
Their children were as follows : John, who 
now lives in Prairie Creek township ; Halka, 
widow of Harm Hildebrant and a resiilent 
of Prairie Creek township ; Klaas. our sub- 
ject ; Adam, who resides in Germany ; and 
George, who died at tlie age of fourteen. 
All received their education in Germany. 

In 1867 our subject came to this country 
and located in Prairie Creek township, 
Logan count\', llHnois. where he W(.irked 
upon a farm for two years, and then settled 
on his present farm on section 15. Here he 
has a verv well improved farm, which he 
has earned by. his own hard work. As he 
had nothing when he commenced life for 
himself, naturally the struggle was a diffi- 
cult one. but his success proves that e\-ery- 
thing is possible to the man \\ho is honest, 
thrifty and hard working. 

Mr. ^Nlammen was married to Marx- 
Mueller, of Gernianw with wlinni he had 
been accpiainted before coming to America. 
She was a daughter of John Mueller, who 
died in Germany. Six children have l)een 
born to our suljject and his wife, namely: 
Christ, who married Linn Haydeu and li\es 
in Tazewell countv. Illinois: John, who mar- 
ried Tina Cronehagen and lives in Einden. 
this county, where he is engaged in hand- 
ling agricultural implements ; Emma, whrj 
married Hank Mueller, and lives in Orvil 
township: Andrew, at home: M;iggie. wlio 
is the wife of Harm Samper and li\-es in 
Orvil township ; and Klaas, who is at home. 

In politics Mr. Mammen is a Repub- 
lican and has always supported the principles 
of that party. P)()th he and his wife are 



earnest members of the Methodist church 
of San Jose, Illinois. Prior to coming to 
this country, Mr. Alammen served for two 
years in the German army and left his na- 
ti\e land the year following his honorable 
discharge, in 1867. Throughout the en- 
tire community he is highlv esteemed and 
his opinions are given due weight among 
his neighbors who rely upon his good judg- 
ment and excellent business knowledge as 
well as upon his honesty of purpose and 
fairness in dealing'. 



ROBERT GILCHRIST. 

One of the venerable and honored citi- 
zens of Lincoln is R()l>ert Gilchrist, who 
for many years was identified with agricul- 
tural interests in Logan countv. but for 
more than two decades has lived retired in 
the city where he now makes his home. He 
is enjoying a well earned rest, which has 
come to him as the reward of earnest labor 
in former years, for he came to .Vmerica 
in limited financial circumstances and bA' 
his industry and enterprise has achiexed 
prosperity. 

Mr. (iilchrist is a native of Scotland, his 
birth ha\ing occurred in New Gallowav. on 
the 9th of March, 1819. his parents being 
^\'illiam and Jane (Clark) Gilchrist, who 
were als(.i nati\-es of the land of hills and 
heather. The father was a shoemaker by 
trade and followed that pursuit in order to 
pnix'ide for his wife and children. Lender 
the paternal roof our suljject spent the days 
of his boyhood and in the public schools he 
accpiired a good education, continuing his 
studies until fifteen years of age, when he 
entered u])on his business career as an ap-' 
])rentice to the carpenter's trade, which he 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



293 



followed for about six years in the place 
of liis nativity. Hearing favorable reports 
of the opportunities afforded voung men in 
the new world he determined to trv his for- 
tune in "the land of the free," and in 1843 
sailed with his bride for the harbor of Xew 
York. From the metropolis he proceeded 
to Bristol, Rhode Island, and thence went 
to Fall River, Massachusetts, where he was 
engaged in pattern making in a cotton fac- 
tory for fourteen \ears, but the Alississijipi 
\alley attracted him and in 1857 he came 
with his famiiv to Illinois. 

^Ir. Gilchirst located in Logan county 
and secured (jue hundred and sixtv acres of 
land in Eminence townshij), where he began 
farming and stock-raising. As his financial 
resources increased he ailded to his pro])ertv 
until the home farm comp(ised fi\-e hundred 
acres, and he also had three hundred and 
twenty acres elsewhere, but the latter tract 
he has since sold. He still owns the h\e 
hundred acres, however, and the rental from 
the property returns to him a good income. 
He continued to engage in the cultivation 
of the fields and the raising of grain for 
many years, and prosperity attended his la- 
bors. At length he had acquired sufficient 
capital to enable him to li\e a retired life 
and in January. 1880. lie removed from the 
farm tc* Lincoln, A\here he has since resided, 
enjoying a well earned rest. 

Just prior to his emigration to America 
Mr. Gilchrist was married to Miss Eliza- 
beth Bennett, a daughter of Robert and Ann. 
(Johnson) Bennett, of the parish of Bal- 
magee. Scdtland. Their wedding was cele- 
brated on the 22d of February, 1S43, ^"'l 
fin the 26th of May of the same vear thev 
arrived in the United States. ]\Irs. Gilchrist 
died October j, 1898. She has been to her 
husband a faithful companion and helpmate 
on the journey of life, was a devoted mother 



and a consistent member of the Cumberland 
l'resb}-terian church. In the family are fi\e 
children: William K,, who is serving as 
justice of the jjeace in Lincoln: Marv 
.Vnn. the wife of Samuel Niswan- 
ger. of Chicago: Jane E.. who married 
James Gallagher, who is a teacher in the 
deaf schools of Chicago; John J., of Lin- 
coln ; and ^Margaret, widow of Thomas Mor- 
rison. 

While residing in I-Ieminence township 
Air. Gilchrist served as road commissioner 
for si.x years and for twelve years was a 
member of the school board. He was one 
of the trustees of Lincdln Lni\-ersity, ha\-- 
ing served in that position for about ten 
}ears. his last term expiring in June, 1901. 
In ])olitics he is a stalwart Republican 
and in religicjus faith is a Cumberland Pres- 
In-terian, of which church he has been a 
deacon many years, and his life is in har- 
mony with his profession, his action shaped 
by his Christian belief. He has almost 
reached the eighty-second milestone on his 
life's journey, and his has been an acti\-e 
and useful career, colored by honest pur- 
pose, so that he can look back over the past 
without regret and forward to the future 
without fear. 



ANILLIAM B. STROUD, Sr. 

Prominent among the successful farm- 
ers and leading- citizens of Eminence town- 
shi]) is numljered William B. Stroud, Sr.. 
will I fur a quarter of a century was acti\'ely 
identified with the agricultural interests of 
this locality, but is now a resident of Arm- 
ington. Tazewell county. He was born in 
Iowa. May 3. 1853, and is one of a family 
of seven children, whose parents were WW- 



294 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



iam P>. and ^lartlia (Brooks) Stmud. Tlie 
father was born, reared and educated in 
Tennessee, and at an early day came to lili- 
nois with his parents, T'eter and Rebecca 
Stroud, the journey being matle in a twn- 
wheel cart. For some years he followed 
farming- in Eminence township, Logan 
county, but spent his last years in hjwa, 
where he died, the }-ear our subject was 
born. His wife long survi\ed him, passing 
awav in 1889. A more extended mention is 
made of the Stroud faniil_\- in the sketch of 
\\'illiani Stmud, Jr.. on another page of this 
work. 

The early life of our suljject was sijcnt 
in his nati\-e state, and on coming to Illi- 
nois he made his home in INIcLean county 
for a time, but since 1876 he has been a resi- 
dent of Logan county, owning and operat- 
ing a well inipro\ed and highly cultivated 
farm of one huiulerd and twenty acres on 
section ,^, Eminence township. The well 
tilled fields and thrifty appearance of the 
place testify to his careful supervision and 
show conchisi\-ely that he is a man of good 
business ability and sound judgment. On 
October 15, i()oi, 'Mr. Stroud, in company 
with C. W. Cruse, bought the hardware and 
implement business of W. H. Da\idson at 
Armington. 

As a companion and helpmate on life's 
journe\' Mr. Stroud chose Aliss ]\[ary C. 
Mountjoy. a daughter of \\"illiam Mount- 
joy, who is a successful farmer and a rep- 
resentati\e of one of Logan county's best 
families. .\ sketch of the family will be 
found elsewhere in this volume. The\- were 
married Feljruary 6, 1876, and ti\-e chiklren 
blessed their union, those li\-ing lieing Ella 
E., Cassie C. and Hattie F. 

Air. Stroud \-otes the rrohibition ticket 
and is a stanch su]i])i:irter of the principles 
of that ])art\', being a strong temperance 



man. Soci;dl\- he is a member of the In- 
dependent Order oi Odd Fellows and the 
Abidern W'ooodmen of America, and religi- 
ousK' l)oth he and his wife are de\'out mem- 
bers of the Christian church. They receive 
and merit the high regard of the entire com- 
munity, antl those who know them best are 
numliered among their warmest friends. 



BEX'JAAIIX HUBBARD BRAIXARD. 

Prominent among the lousiness men of 
Lincoln in early days was Benjamin Hub- 
bard Brainard. wln) passed away I\Ia_\' 31, 
i8qi. He was born Alay 30, 1838, 
in Charleston, South Carolina, of which 
place his father. Rev. Eleazer Brain- 
ard, was a city missionary. His mother, 
who bore the maiden name of Lucinda Reed, • 
was a natixe of Boston, ^Massachusetts, and ' 
a most estimable lady, ^^"hen our subject 
was young the family removed to Ohio, and ! 
he received his primary education in the , 
schools of that state, later attending Farmers 
College, Ohio, and the IMianii L'ni\'ersity, j 
at Oxford. 

Tims well equipped fi.u" a business career, 
]\Ir. Brainard came west to Logan county, 
Illin(_)is. in 1857, and in partnership with 
^^'illiam AF. Duston opening the first bank 
in Lincoln, it Ijeing known as the Banking 
House of Brainard & Duston. They con- 
tinued to carry on the bank until Mr. Brain- 
ard's retirement from business. He was 
one of the organizers of the First Xational 
Bank and one of its largest stockholders. 
He was also interested in a number of busi- 
ness enterprises and industries, including the 
Hodgens Woolen Mills of Lincoln. He was 
a man of keen perception, great sagacity and 
luibounded enterprise, and t(> these character- 




BENJAMIN HUBBARD BRAINARD. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



.297 



istics may be attributed his excellent success. 
In business affairs he was energetic, promj^t 
and nctabl}' reliable, and carried forward to 
successful completion wbate\er be under- 
took. 

On the 13th of January, 1857, Mr. Brain- 
ard \\as united in marriage with Miss Ella 
^V. Owsley, a native of Kentucky and a 
daughter of Henry Hawkins and Mary 
( Finley ) Owsley. The onl_\- child born of 
this iniion was a son who died in infancy. 
Mrs. Brainard was educated at Jacksonville 
Academy. Tackson\-ille. Illinois. She and her 
husliand began their married life upon a 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres of 
land adjoining the city limits of Lincoln, 
A\hich is now within the corporation, and 
here she still continues to reside. The place 
was all wild prairie land when it came into 
possession of Mr. Brainard, but he soun 
])laced it under cultivation and con\-erted it 
into a \-aluable tract. He had unbounded 
faith in the futiu'e develojiment of Lincoln, 
and displayed remarkable foresight and sa- 
gacity in the purchase of this farm. He had 
eight farms in the A'icinity of Lincoln, and 
Avas also interested in western lands, owning 
two thousand acres in Xebraska. After his 
Avidiiw had recei\'ed her portion of this prop- 
erty the remainder was divided among the 
Brainard heirs. Since her husband's death 
Mrs. Brainard has continued to occupy the 
homestead, and has remodeled the residence, 
which stands on a beautiful elevation, mak- 
ing it a most attractive spot in the land- 
scajoe. 

Mr. Brainard was a strictlv business 
man, and was always to be found in his ofifice 
during office hours, but he was also domestic 
in his tastes, and during- his leisure hours 
found the greatest enjoyment with his fam- 
ily at home. His fellow citizens having in 
him the utmost confidence, often called upon 



him tO' make investments for them, and a 
trust rejjosed in him was never misplaced. 
He was a man of decided views and convic- 
tions, and in politics was a pronounced Re- 
publican. Religiously l\Ir. Brainard was a 
devout member of the First Presbyterian 
church of Lincoln, and tO' its support he con- 
triliuted liberally. He led an upright, hon- 
orable and useful life, and in his death the 
communit}- realized that it had lost a valued 
citizen. His widow in her pleasant home in 
Lincoln is surrounded by a host of warm 
friends, who have for herself and husband 
a most genuine regard. 



FRANK R. YOUXGBERG. 

A successful and highly esteemed farmer 
of Chester township is Frank R. Young- 
berg, \\ho has been one of its estimalile resi- 
dents since 1889. The birth of Mr. Young- 
berg occurred in Havana, the county seat 
of Mason ciiunty, Illin(3is, February 10, 
1862, and he is the son of John and Eliza- 
beth Youngberg, both of whcnn died in I\Ia- 
son countv in 1873 or '74, when about fift_\'- 
five }-ears of age. Thev were natives of 
Sweden, where thev married, coming to 
America about 1856. Here Mr. Youngberg 
was a farmer, renting land, and carrying 
on a general line of farming. The ])arents 
of our subject reared a family of seven chil- 
dren, while two died in infancy, the others 
being: John P., who lives near Blunt, 
South Dakota; Victor, who lives in Harper 
county, Kansas: Stephen A., who lives in 
Swift county, Minnesota: Frank R., who 
is our subject; Tillie, who Ii\-es in Dakota; 
C. Oscar, who is a farmer in Indian Ter- 
ritory ; and Albert, who is a farmer and 
lives near Blunt, South Dakota. The chil- 



298 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dren were educated in tlie cumniun scliools 
<jf Alason count}-, and later, after the death 
of the parents, they came to Logan county. 
The rehgious connection of tlie faniil_\- has 
always l)een with tlie Lutheran church. 

Frank R. Youngberg was reared on a 
farm and attended school during the winter 
nmnths, until he was ten years (jld. at that 
time beginning to take his place as a hiretl 
farm assistant by the month. The years 
1884 and 1885 were spent in Suuth Dakota, 
where lie tmik up a claim and he is still the 
owner of one hunilred and sixtv acres in 
that prosperous state from which he receives 
rent. His location in Logan county was in 
1874, and this county has been his home 
ever since, with the exception of the two 
years spent in Dakota. 

In 1888 Mr. Youngberg was united in 
marriage in Logan county, to Miss Amanda 
Hoepfner, who was born in Xew York, in 
1864, and was a daughter of August Lloepf- 
ner, a resilient of Effingham county. Illi- 
nolis. Her parents' faniih- consisted of : 
Amanda, who became ]\Irs. Yoimgberg; 
Hugo and Geoiige, both carpenters in Lin- 
coln ; Alliert and John, who are contractors 
for cement walks in Sangamon count\' : and 
Lydia, who lives in Effingham C(juntv. To 
our suliject and his wife one son, Jav Al- 
len, was Ijorn in i8S(), and he is an attendant 
at the public school. 

Since 1889 our subject has carried on 
extensive farming and stock-raising on the 
farm where he is located, cultixating three 
hundred and twenty acres in Chester town- 
ship and feeding and shipping, since 18Q5, 
large numliers of fine stock. Success has 
attended his efforts and he is regarded in 
this locality as one of the careful and reli- 
able farmers. 

In national politics our suljject is a Dem- 
ocrat. Init in local affairs he uses his judg- 



ment as to the l)cst man for the office. Airs. 
Youngberg is a consistent member of the 
Lutheran church and J\lr. Youngberg is 
known as one who is liberal to all worthy 
objects. His social membership is w ith the 
M. ^\^ A., Camp No. 109, of Lincoln, w here 
he is valued. As one of the self-educated 
and self-made men of this localit\-. Mr. 
Youngljerg deserves the high esteem in 
which he is held, his energy and industry 
gaining for him the commendation of all. 



ALFRED H. TOMLINSOX. 

The suljject of this personal narratix^e 
is one of the leading citizens of ]\It. Pulaski, 
where he is now li\'ing a retired life, free 
from the cares and responsibilities of busi- 
ness affairs. .\ native of Logan county, 
he was Ixirn in Laenna township. April 12, 
1842, and is a son of Isaac antl Araminta 
(Dawson) Tomlinson, who were natives of 
Kentucky and Indiana, respecti\-ely, and were 
married in the latter state. In 1840 the 
l)arents came to Logan countx', Illinois, and 
settled in Laenna township, where the father 
successfully engaged in general farming and 
stock-raising for many years, but spent his 
last days in ease and quiet in the \illage of 
Mt. Pulaski, where he died February 10, 
189J. His wife died in the same nliicj in 
1888. Thus passed awa_\- one of the most hon- 
ored and highl\- respected pioneer couples in 
this section of the county. They had a family 
of six children. Ijut onlv our subject and Ins 
lirother John M.. a farmer of Logan count}-, 
are now living. 

Alfred H. Tondinson grew to manhood 
upon the home farm, assisting his father 
in its operation until he attained his major- 
\t\. He first attended the district schools. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



299 



and later was a student in the Mt. Pulaski 
schools for a time. In August, 1862, he 
joined the boys in blue of Company D, One 
Hundred and Sixth Illinois Wjlunteer In- 
fantry, under Colonel Rol>ert Latham, and 
took part in a number of skirmishes, but 
was mainly engaged in garrison duty. When 
his three years of enlistment expired he was 
honorably discharged in Septemljer, 1865, 
and returned home, to take up the more 
quiet pursuits of farm life. 

On October 18, 1866, Mr. Tomlinson led 
the marriage altar Miss Lucy C. 
Wilson, wiio was ]yjTn in Galena, 
Illinois, March 6. 1849, ^ daughter 
of Hiram and Caroline Wilson, who 
were old settlers in this county. Hiram 
Wilson was born in Ohio and married Miss 
, Caroline Reed at Muscatine. Iowa. She was 
born in BufYalo. Xew York. They re- 
mained in Iowa for a few years and came 
to Mt. Pulaski from Galena. Illinois. Later 
they moved to Lincoln, where the father 
died and where her mother still lives. Four 
children Ijless the union of Mr. and 
Mrs. Tomlinson. namely: Araminta M., 
"ow the wife of William Smith, a resident 
: Indianapolis. Indiana ; George A., who 
lives on the old homestead farm : Walter 
A., who resides in the vicinity of Mt. Pu- 
laski : and John M., at home. 

After his marriage Mr. Tomlinson took 
up his residence in Laenna township, this 
county, where he purchased eighty acres of 
land, and engaged in farming and stock- 
raising with marked success for several 
years. As he prospered in his affairs and 
his financial resources increased he kept 
adding to his landed pos.sessions until he 
had two hundred and ninety acres under a 
high state of cultivation and well improved. 
Renting his farm in 1891, he removed to 
Mt. Pulaski, where he owns a nice home. 



and here, surrounded by all the comforts 
which makes life worth the living, he is 
now living retired. In his political views 
Mr. Tomlinson is a Republican, but he is 
not an aspirant for ofifice, although he served 
as school director for twenty years. His 
residence in this county, covering almost 
sixty years, has numbered him among its 
vidued citizens who have been devoted to 
the public welfare. He has manifested the 
same loyalty in the days of jjeace as in time 
of war, and all who know him have f'-r him 
the highest regard. 



JAMES McLELLAX. 

Among the prominent and energetic ag- 
riculturists of Eminence township. Logan 
county, the subject of this sketch occupied 
a prominent pl^ace. He was lx)rn in Scot- 
land. June 6, 1830, and was one of the 
twelve children b<jrn to William and Agnes 
(Fulton) McLellan. The grandparents, 
William and Elizabeth (Clanahanj McLel- 
lan. were of Scotch birth and the great- 
grandparents were also natives of Scotland. 
The father of our subject always li\ed in 
his native country and was a miller and 
butcher by trade. His death occurred in 
1865. and the mother passed away alx)ut 
two years later. 

The gentleman whose name heads this 
review was reared on the home farm in 
Scotland, where he received a very limited 
education. In 1866 he bade good-bye to 
his native land and crossed the Atlantic. 
Landing in this country, he came immedi- 
ately to Braidwood, Illinois, where he re- 
mained for about eighteen months, work- 
ing irr a coal mine. At the end of this time 
he returned to the home of his nativity, 



300 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where he spent two years. He then again 
emigrated to America, and came at once to 
Lincohi, Illinois, arriving here at the time 
parties were sinking the first coal shaft at 
this place. Five years later he purchased 
fifteen acres of land on section 3. Eminence 
township, gradually adding to it until he at 
one time owned one hundred and twenty- 
one acres of well-improved land. Of the 
above property he has presented one of his 
sons with forty-eight acres, retaining sev- 
enty-three for his own use. 

Mr. :McLellan was married to ]\Iiss Ellen 
Kelly, a daughter of Peter Kelly, of Scot- 
land. Eight children have lieen Ixjrn to this 
couple, of whom five are living, namely : 
Agnes, William, John B., James and Peter, 
the deceased being Peter, wln) was a twin 
t(i William, and two daughters, each bear- 
ing the name of Ellen. 

Our subject and his family are devout 
members of the Cumberland Presb\terian 
church. Politically he is a strong sup- 
porter of the Prohibition ticket, and soci- 
ally is a member of the Masonic lodge. Mr. 
McLellan has always been a devoted and in- 
dulgent husband and father, giving his chil- 
dren good educations. For se\'eral years 
he and his good wife have traveled life's 
journev together, sharing with each other 
its joys and sorrows, its adversity and pros- 
peritv, and they are smToundecl by many 
warm friends and relatives, who have for 
tliem the highest respect and esteem. 



G. G. TAYLOR, M. D. 

For four years a resident of Hartsburg, 
Dr. Ta\Ior has gained a \ery envialile rep- 
utation for. his .skill and ability as a phy- 
sician and surgeon and his patronage is con- 



stantly increasing both in volume and im- 
portance. He is a native of Elkhart, this 
county, where his birth occurred in 1875. 
His parents, Z. T. and Dora (Brady) Tay- 
lor, are well known residents of Elkhart and 
ihev enjoy the warm regard of many 
friends. The father was bdrn in Kentucky, 
whence in 1872 he removed to Logan coun- 
ty, taking up his abode in Elkhart, where 
he established a drug store. To' this he has 
since added a stock of general merchandise 
and is now conducting a well equipped gen- 
eral store supplied with a large line i)f mer- 
cantile goods of every description. He was 
married in Elkhart t(i Miss Dura Brad)', 
and they became the parents of seven chil- 
ren : (j. G., of this review : Xellie, wife of 
E. W. Gilbert, who is in i)artnership with 
her father in Elkhart ; Lola, at home : James 
B., who is living in Elkhart: Frank; Zach- 
ariah T. and Nannie, who are yet under the 
paternal roof. 

The Doctor acquired his early education 
in the home schools of Elkhart and later 
was for two years a student in the univer- 
sit_\- at Lincoln, lllin<]is. He later began the 
stud)- of medicine and entered the Rush 
Medical College of Chicago, where he re- 
mained for two years, when he matriculated 
in the College of Ph^-sicians and Surgeons, 
in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was gradu- 
ated in the class of 1897, recei\'ing a cer- 
tificate entitling him to practice. Thus well 
prepared for his chosen profession he came 
at once to Hartsburg and bought out the 
practice of Dr. J. R. Barnett. During his 
four }'ears" residence here he has met with 
\ery creditable and gratifying success and 
has gained a high standing in the ranks of 
the medical fraternit}'. 

The Doctor married Miss Grace Haas, > 
of Farmer City, DeWitt county, Illinois, a 
daughter of J. J. Haas, a hardware mer- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



?oi 



chant of that town. They now have two 
children — Doroth\-, [Maude and Edwin. Mrs. 
Taylor is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
co])al church of Hartsburg and is a most es- 
timaljle lady, who shares with her husljand 
the warm regard of many friends. He ex- 
ercises his right of franchise in support of 
the men and measures of the Republican 
part}- and is now serving as township treas- 
urer of the school funds of Orvil township. 
Socially he is identified with the Modern 
\\'oodnien of America, Ijelonging to the 
camp in Hartsburg, and is a memlier of 
the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Emden. 
He is a voung man, possessed of res(jlute 
purpose and laudable ambition and therefore 
one ma\' jjredict for him a successful fu- 
ture. 



WlLLP'vM ARMSTROXG. 

For many years this gentleman has been 
an honored resident of Beason, w here he is 
now so successfully engaged in the stijck 
business. Throughout his career of con- 
tinued and far-reaching usefulness his 
duties ha\e been iierformed with the great- 
i.->t care, and business interests ha\-e been 
so managed as to win him the confidence of 
the i)ul)lic and the prosperity which sIkjuUI 
al\\ avs attend honorable effort. 

■Mr. Armstrong was born in Ireland, in 
October, 1836, and is one of a family of 
seven children whose parents were James 
and Sarah (Johnson) Armstrong. Thev 
s]:)ent their entire lives on the Emerald Isle, 
where the father died in 1S54 and the 
uKithcr in 1888. Our subject's paternal 
grandfather was Hugh Armstrong-. The 
grandmother came to the L'nited States in 
1838 and settled in Ohio. 

On reaching man"s estate our subject 
was desirous of tr\-ing his fortune in the 



new world, l.)elie\dng that here better oppor- 
tunities were afforded ambitious _\oung 
men than in his native land. Accordingly 
he bade good-by to home and friends, and, 
with his uncle, William Johnson, he came 
to America in 1857. '^^''^ vessel on which 
he sailed landed him safely in New Orleans, 
and from there he came up the Mississippi 
ri\-er to Pike count\-, lllin(.)is, i,\here he had 
relatives living, and on whose farm of one 
hundre(l and sixty acres he commenced 
work, the com])ensation received by him for 
his ser\ices Ijeing thirteen dollars per month. 
He had previously become thoroughly 
familiar with agricultural pursuits while 
working imder the direction of his father 
upon the home farm. 

In 1858 Air. Armstrong came to Beason, 
where he worked for others and also en- 
gaged in dealing in grain until the spring 
of i860, when he and his Iirother Andrew- 
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
land near that village and engaged the serv- 
ices of his three remaining brothers to op- 
erate it. This venture pro\-ed cjuite profit- 
al)le. From 1874 until 1893 our subject 
dealt quite extensively in grain and li\-e 
stock, but in the latter year disposed of the 
former business. He still buys and sells 
live stock, however, and is considered an 
excellent judge of the same. During all 
these years he has continued his farming- 
operations, and has met with good success 
in all his undertakings, having become one 
lA the well-to-diT citizens of his CLimmunitv. 

Mr. .Vrmstrong was married to Miss 
Xannie Kerney, a daughter of Benjamin 
L. and America (Reed) Kerney, both of 
whom were nati\-es oi Tenneesee. Two 
children blessed this union: William R., 
who was l)orn June 20, igoo, and is still 
living; and Ivy, who was born August 9, 
1 89 1, and died Octojjer 2, 1900. 



302 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 






Tliere is probably no man in Logan 
C(nint\- will I is wider or more fax'oraljly 
known than Mr, Arnistrnng', whn is famil- 
iarly called Uncle Billy by his many friends. 
He has ne\^er songht pulilicity. but his fel- 
low citizens, recognizing his worth antl abil- 
ity. ha\'ing called upon him to till several 
public positions of honor and trust. He 
was once tendered the office of county treas- 
urer, but declined to accept, preferring to 
give his attention to his business interests 
and his leisure moments to his home. lit 
his political affiliations he is a Republican, 
and in religious belief both he and his wife 
are Methodists. He belongs to that class 
of men whom the world terms self-made, 
for, coming to this country empty-handed, 
he has conquered all obstacles in the ])ath to 
success, and has not only secured for him- 
self a handsome competence, but by iiis ef- 
forts has materially advanced the interests 
of the community with which he is asso- 
ciated. He commands the res])ect and ccjn- 
tidence of all with whom he comes in con- 
tact, and ranks among' the leading citizens 
of his locality. 



SAMUEL W. DOWXTXG. 

Samuel W. Downing, an honored and 
highly respected citizen of Mt. Pulaski, Illi- 
nois, was born on the 24th of March, 1833. 
in Pike county, Ohio, which was also the 
birthplace of his parents, Samuel and Mary 
(Mathews) Downing, the former born in 
1806, the latter in i8og. His paternal 
grandparents were George and \\'innie 
Downing, who were originally from Mary- 
land and were among the first- settlers of 
Pike county, Ohio. Our subject was reared 
in his native county and educated in its pub- 



lic sc1kx)Is. In 1845 'i*^ came with his par- 
ents to Logan county, Illinois, and settled 
in Chester townshi[), where the father im- 
pro\ed a farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres, making his home there until his 
death, which occurred in 1865. Politically 
he was a stalwart Democrat, and religiously 
was a faithful and consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, to which his 
wife also belonged. She passed away in 
1846. 

In the family of tiiis worthy couple were 
eight children, five sons and three daugh- 
ters, namely: Cieorge and 'riu)mas, Ijoth 
deceased: Samuel W., our subject: William 
and John, both deceased: Sarah, wife of 
Jose]ih Culp and a resident of Kansas : Mary 
J., widow of John Reece and a resident of 
(_)xford, Kansas: and Elizabeth, who died 
in infancy. 

During his minority oUr subject ga\'e 
his father the Ijenefit of his labors in carry- 
ing on the home farm. In 1867 he married 
]\Iiss Elizabeth Downing, of Logan county, 
a daughter of Roliert and Jane ( Morrow) 
Downing. Tliough of the same name, she 
was no relative of his. Unto them were 
born eight children, as follows : IMattie M., 
deceased: Adelia. wife of \\'illiam Laugh- 
ery, of Mt. Pulaski: Margaret E., wife of 
I-'rank Eletcher, of Chester township ; Wes- 
ley, a farmer of Sangamon county: Henry, ' 
who is now operating the olil home farm: 
George L., a farmer of P)roa(lwell township: 
Ora L., at home: and John T., who is now 
clerking in Danner's clothing store at Mt. 
Pulaski. The wife and mother died in 
1888, lea\'ing" man\' frientls as well as her 
immediate famih' to mourn her loss. 

Mr. and Mrs. Downing began their mar- 
ried life upon his father's farm, and he pur- 
chased the interests of the other heirs in that 
])lace. In his farming operations he met 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



303 



witli excellent success, and in course of time 
accjuired a fine estate, having two hundred 
and sixty acres of land in Chester and Mt. 
Pulaski townships, besides one hundred and 
sixty acres near Broadwell. In 1892 he re- 
tired from active labor and removed to the 
\illage of Mt. Pulaski, where he has since 
made his home. He now rents his farms 
but sees that they are kept in first-class con- 
dition. 

In early life Mr. Downing always affil- 
iated with the Democratic party, but for 
the ])ast ten years has voted the Prohibition 
ticket, as he is a strong temperance man and 
bejieves that the principles of that party 
are better calculated to advance the best in- 
terests of the country. For over half a cen- 
tury he has now made his home in Logan 
county, and he is widely and favorably 
known as an upright, honorable man. Mr. 
and Mrs. Downing are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he 
has served as steward. 



THO-MAS L. BLACKBURX. 

Thomas L. Blackburn, general agent for 
the Indiana Bridge Company, residing in 
Lincoln, is one of Logan county's native 
sons, his birth having occurred on a farm in 
Broadwell township, April 13, 1861. His 
parents were William and IVIargaret (Gar- 
rett ) Blackburn. The father was born in 
Ireland, and when a young man came to 
the United States. After spending some 
time in Ohio he came to Illinois, locating 
first in Springfield. In 1856 he removed to 
Logan county and settled in Broadwell 
township, where he engaged in general 
farming. He also engaged in contracting 
<in the Chicago & Alton Railroad during 



its construction in 1853. He died on his 
farm in Broadwell township in 1869. His 
wife, who still sur\-ives, now makes her 
home with a daughter. 

Our subject attended the common 
schools of this county until seventeen years 
of age, and then went to Elkhart, Illinois, 
where he spent four years in learning the 
tinner's trade and hardware business. He 
next went to Chicago and was employed as 
salesman by Gerts, Lumbard & Company 
for fi\e years. At the end of that period he 
returned to Lincoln, where he was for two 
years engaged in the bakery and confec- 
tionery business in a successful way. Sell- 
ing the business in 1888, he accepted the 
position of agent for the Indiana Bridge 
Company. His territory now covers five 
states — Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mis- 
souri and Kansas, — and he acts as general 
agent, with many local agents under him, 
doing a large business, it being one of the 
largest in the field. 

On the 27th of September, 1887, Mr. 
Blackburn was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary A. Cox, of Bloomington, Illinois, who 
was born in Streator, La Salle county, this 
state, and is a daughter of John and Mary 
( Raycraft) Cox. They now have four 
children: Leo, Marie, \Mlliam and 
Thomas. ^Mr. Blackburn has a pleasant 
home at the corner of Keokuk and A\'ater 
streets, and he stands high in the commun- 
ity where he has lived so manv vears. 



JOSEPH TIDD. 



Joseph Tidd, deceased, was for many 
years one of the most active and highly re- 
spected agriculturists of Logan county. His 



304 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was an honorable and useful life, and his 
sterling worth and strict integrity gained for 
him the confidence and esteem of all with 
whom he came in contact in the various 
walks of life. 

He was one of a family of six children 
born to John Tidd, his birth occurring Sep- 
tember 9, 1825, near Woodsfield, Ohio. At 
an early age he learned the carpenter's trade, 
at which he worked for several years. Later 
he took up farming, which, together with 
his trade, he followed for some time. He 
also taught school in Chicago for m;iny 
years. 

In the year 1S50 he disposed of his farm- 
ing interests and moved to Atlanta, Illinois, 
where he purchased a residence for himself 
and family, also a farm in Atlanta township. 
\\ hicli is nijw being conducted l)}' his widow. 
In connection with his farm, he worked at 
the carpenter's trade in and around Atlanta 
imtil his death, which occurred Xovcmber 
5, 1897. 

On September 9. 1858, a ceremony was 
performed \\hich united ]\Ir. Tidd in mar- 
riage with ]\Iiss Judith .\nn ^bmre. daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Barthiah (Edwards) 
Moore, of Ohio. They became the ])arents 
of two children : Charles, wlni resides in 
Kansas City, was at one time superintend- 
ent of mines in ^Missouri, but in later years 
has been an extensive real estate dealer, with 
headcjuarters in Kansas City : and Elmira re- 
sides at hnme with her mother. 

Earnest and sincere Christians, b(jth Mr. 
and Mrs. Tidd have faithfully and actively 
served the IMethodist Episcopal church, he 
for twenty-five years acting as class-leader. 
He also held the offices of trustee, super- 
intendent and steward. Politically J\Ir. 
Tidd was a Priihil)iti(inist, and serx'ed as tax 
assessor for three vears. Few men in -\t- 



lanta had more warm friends than our sub- 
ject, and his death was a sad blow, not alone 
t(i his famil\- and relatives Init to the com- 
nuuiit}- as well, whn knew hcjw to appreciate 
a gdiid, upright man. 



BEXJAMIX F. STULTS, M. D. 

^^'orthy of emulation is the career of 
Dr. Benjamin F. Stults, and a forcible illus- 
tration of the heights tO' which one may at- 
tain in the face of a not over-indulgent early 
fortune. In the estimation of those who 
know him best it would seem that he had 
realized the promise of his youth, had ap- 
]iroached at least the rim of his expectations, 
and ciimhined in his personalitv and experi- 
ence the finest type of successful medical 
practitioner.' business acumen and integrity, 
and large hearted devotion to the best inter- 
ests of the community which accoimts him 
an honored member. Though a resident i>f 
Xew Holland, to which he came January 15, 
1890, his services are in demand throughnut 
the surrounding country, and he numbers 
his patients from one end to the other of 
Logan county. j\s a reward for his industry 
he has to show the finest residence in X"ew 
Holland, which is also artistically and ele- 
gantly furnished and replete with all modern 
coaiveniences, built at a cost of five th<iu- 
sand dollars, besides considerable city proi> 
erty, including the building in which he con- 
ducts a drug- store in partnership with J. E. 
.Shear}-. His store is valued at five thousand 
dollars. In addition he is the possessor of 
a well-tilled farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres in the vicinity of Holland, which is 
valued at fifteen thousand dollars. A Repub- 
lican in politics, he has never sought official 




DR. B. F. STULTZ. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



recognition, for. witli the enthusiasm of the 
true physician of men, liis labors liave all 
been in the direction of broadening his km i\v- 
ledge of a truly great profession. 

The Stults family after emigrating to 
America l)ecame identified with Pennsylva- 
nia, and in the Quaker state the grandfather, • 
George Stults, was born, and carried on 
farming interests until his death. Of the 
parents of Dr. Stults, Jacob and Lydia A. 
(Turner) .Stults, the fnrnier was liorn in 
Fairfield county, Ohio, where he received a 
good education, and where for many years 
he engaged in farming. He eventually came 
tcT Illinciis, l(!cating in Cumberland count}", 
where he farmed on an extensive scale until 
1868, when he removed to Piatt comity, 
where his death occurred in Octn[)er, 1879, 
his wife sur\i\ing him until 1885. 

Benjamin E. Stults was born in Eairfield 
county, Ohio, January 27, 1855, and re- 
cei\-e(l a cr:mnic">n-scho(il education in the 
Buckeye state, supplemented by attendance at 
the iiormal school at Normal, Illinois. To 
meet the expenses attached to attenxling 
the normal school he himself engaged in 
teaching, and after graduation became the 
l<rincipal of the Delands and Weldon school. 
' if De^^'itt county. In the meantime he had 
been preparing to devote himself to the pro- 
fession of medicine, and in 1884 dropped 
all (ither interests and read medicine imder 
the capable guidance nf Dr. \\'. H. Taylor, 
I if Weldon. He also attended lectures on 
special diseases and e\-entually graduated 
from the Keokuk ^ledical Scliool in 1887. 
Immediately afterward he located at ^^'el- 
don and practiced medicine for three years, 
or until his removal to- New Holland in 
1890. 

The marriage of Dr. Stults and Katie 
Plitchens occurred August 17, 188 r. Dr. 
Stults is fraternally associated with the 

17 



Knights of Pythias, the Indqoendent Order 
oi Odd Fellows and the Alasons, and with 
his wife is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 



ALGERNON M. SARGENT, M. D. 

Aniung those who dex'ote their time and 
energies to the practice of medicine and 
have gained a leading place in the ranks of 
the profession is Dr. A. M. Sargent, of Lin- 
coln. He is a native of Logan county, Ijorn 
in ;\It. Pulaski, February 14, 1857, and is 
a son of Dr. Samuel and Rebecca (Millar) 
Sargent, who are represented elsewhere in 
this volume. Our subject spent his boy- 
hi;)od in Lincoln, and is indelited to its pub- 
lic schools for his early educational advan- 
tages. Later he attended Lincoln Univer- 
sity three }'ears. and then entered the Ohio 
2\Iedical College at Cincinnati, where he 
completed the prescribed course aiul was 
graduated in 1880, with the degree of }vl. D. 

Inimediatelv after his graduation Dr. 
Sargent opened an othce in Lincoln, where 
he has since successfully engaged in general 
practice. He is a progressive member of 
his profession, and took a post-graduate 
course at Bellevue Medical College, New 
"^'ory City, in 1884, ^"d 'it the Post-Grad- 
uate College in 1900. His skill and ability 
are attested by the liberal patronage he en- 
joys, and he ranks among the leading ph\-si- 
cians of the county. He is a member of 
the American [Medical Association; the 
State ]\Iedical Society ; and the Brainard 
District Medical Society. He also belongs 
to Logan Lodge. No. 210, A. F. & A. M. 

In 18S4 Dr. Sargent was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Lorena Jenkins, of Lincoln, 
a dairgbter of John T. and Minnie Jenkin-i, 



3o8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of this city. Mrs. Sargent died in January, 
1900, leaving three cliikh-en : Lurena, Fer- 
ree and Algernon j\[., Jr. 



PETER OPHARDT. 

This well-known retired farmer of Mt. 
Pulaski eminently deserves classification 
anKjng the purel)' self-made men of Logan 
county who have distinguished themselves 
for their ability to master the opposing 
forces of life and to wrest from fate a large 
measure of success and an honorable name. 
He was liorn in Prussia, Germany, Se]5tem- 
ber 14, 1833, and is a son of Lambert and 
]Mary ( Kuhner) Ophardt. The mother 
died in that country in 1854. There the 
father followed farming imtil 1857, ^vhen 
he came to America, but died three days 
after arriving at Mt. Pulaski. In the fam- 
ily were seven children, four sons and three 
daughters. 

Peter Ophardt attended the common 
schools of his nati\-e land from the age of 
si.x to fourteen years, and then aided his 
father in the operation of the home farm 
until he was twenty. Bidding good-by to 
home and family in 1853, he took passage 
on a sailing vessel in the harbor of Bremen, 
and after a long and tedious voyage of forty- 
three days landed in New York City. He 
went direct to Racine, Wisconsin, where he 
engaged in farming one year, and in the 
fall of 1854 came to Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. 
A\here he worked cm the farm oi Walt 
Kass for three years. Later he worked for 
L. K. Scroggin for the same length of time, 
and for Jerry Buckles ten months. 

On September 6, 1861, Mr. Ophardt 
was united in marriage with ]\riss Eliza 



Heine, of Beardstown, Illinois, a daughter 
of John and Sophia Heine. To this union 
was born one son, John, who is now on the 
h.ome fanu. ]\Irs. Ophardt died in Xovem- 
ber, 1866, and for his second wife he mar- 
ried Anna Heine, who died March 14, 1897. 
On April 6, 1899, Mr. Ophardt married 
Miss Emma Rother, who was also born in 
Germany, but came to Mt. Pulaski in 1881. 

Mr. and Airs. Ophardt began their do- 
mestic lile upnii a farm two miles west of 
Mt. Pulaski, where he had purchased eighty 
acres of land. Their first home was a 
board shantv, which thev occupied for five 
years, and which was tlien replaced by a 
more commodious and substantial struc- 
ture. As time passed Mr. Ophardt stead- 
ily prospered in his farming operations, and 
he added to his original purchase until he 
had two hundred acres of valuable and 
highly productive land under excellent cul- 
ti\ation. He always gave consideralile at- 
tention to the raising of stock, and kept a 
good grade of cattle and hogs upon his 
farm. Leaxing the place in charge of his ^ 
son John, he removed to Mt. Pulaski in 
1890, and has since lived a retired life, en- 
joying a well-earned rest. 

In religi(_ius belief Mr. Ophardt is a 
Lutheran, and his political support is al- 
wa}s given the men and measures of the 
Democratic ])artv. He deserves great credit 
for the success that he has achieved in life, 
as on coming to ]\It. Pulaski he had only 
fifty cents in his pocket with which to begin 
his business career in this county, but he has 
always made tlie nidst of his advantages, 
and by hard work, strict integrity and good 
management he has succeeded in accjuiring 
a good property, which now enables him to 
spend his declining years in ease and retire- 
ment. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



309 



SA:\IUEL SARGENT, M. D. 

One of the early physicians of Logan 
county was Dj". Samuel Sargent, who was 
for many years successfully engaged in the 
practice of medicine and surgery at Lincoln. 
He was born in Pike county, Ohio, on the 
1st of June, 1828, and was a son of James 
and Nancy (Steinberger) Sargent. His 
father took quite an active part in political 
affairs as a ^Vhig with strong anti-slavery 
views. This necessitated his being awa}' 
from iiome a great part of the time, which 
caused the Doctor to form a dislike for poli- 
tics. His wife was ambitious tO' accumu- 
late property, and tried to inspire the same 
desire in her children. In the family were 
ten children, namely : William ; Mrs. Sarah 
IMcX^eil Talbott ; Snow-don ; Charles ; ]\Iary 
Hethman, wife of L. N. Barnes ; James ; 
Xancy Steinberger, wife of John Burns; 
Samuel; Elizabeth Ellen Prather; and 
IMaria Louisa, wife of William Penn. With 
exception of our subject the sons all fol- 
lowed farming and made their home in 
Ohio. The founder of the family in the 
new world was James Sargent, who came 
to this country from England at an early 
day and settled in Frederickstown, Alary- 
land, and from that state the Doctor's an- 
cestors removed to Ohio. His great-uncle, 
who also bore the name of James Sargent, 
in connection with Re\-. P. Gatch, was in- 
strumental in pre\enting the entrance of 
slavery into the new state of Ohio; and sev- 
eral of his l_>rothers were soldiers of the 
Revolutionary war, one taking part in the 
engagement at Vorktown and another \\as 
killed at Valley Forge. 

Dr. Sargent seemed to have inherited 
his father's literary taste and his mother's 
energy. After recei\-ing a limited common 
school education at home he completed the 



scientific course at Ohio Liniversity, in 
Athens, Ohio. His early life was largely 
influenced by surrounding circumstances. 
He was fond of fishing, hunting, horse- 
racing, wrestling and jumping, and hailed 
with delight the approach of the stage- 
coach, heralded by the blast from the long 
tin horn and the sharp crack of the driver's 
whip. His mind was directed to the study 
of medicine by a natural inclination and by 
obser\-ing the uni\-ersal respect paid physi- 
cians. He was graduated at the Cincinnati 
College of Medicine, and also took a course 
at the University Medical College. New 
York, during the sessions of 1 858-9. 

In September, 1851, Dr. Sargent came 
to Illinois, and first located in Coles county, 
where he soon succeeded in building up a 
good practice, but after two years' residence 
there he. like many others, was dri\-en away 
by the ague. On leaving the state he was 
fully determined never to return, but after 
regaining his health, while on board an Ohio 
river steamer, he fell into conversation with 
a gentleman from Logan county, who, 
learning his profession, urged him to locate 
here, stating that it oiYered fine inducements 
to a competent young physician. A year 
later Dr. Sargent took his advice and came 
to this county, in 1854, and was engaged in 
practice at Alt. Pulaski until i860, when he 
remo\ed to Lincoln, following his chosen 
l)rofession at this place with marked success 
for almost a third of a centur}-. In 1892 he 
went to Wichita. Kansas, where he lived 
retired until his death, which occurred Feb- 
ruary 2, 1898. 

On the I2th of Alay, 1856, Dr. Sargent 
was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca 
Millar, who was born in Pike county, Ohio, 
in 1 832, and was a daughter of Cornelius 
Elton and Nancy (James ) Alillar. Her fa- 
ther, who was a classical scholar, removed 



3>o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



from \'ir,<iinia td Ohio at an early day, and 
settled in the Scioto valley, on the southern 
boundary of Pike county. His wife was 
the eldest daughter of Hon. John James, 
wdio remox'ed to Marietta, Ohio, in com- 
pany with the Putnams and others. Mv. 
James was intensely religious and imbued 
liis children with the same disposition. In 
the Millar family were four children : Jane, 
wife of San ford Williams, a farmer of Kan- 
sas : Julia Ann, wife of Rev. John O. Gib-, 
son, a Methodist Episcopal minister; Re- 
becca, who became ]\Irs. Sargent : and Cor- 
nelius Elton, a farmer and capitalist of Sci- 
oto county, Ohio. ' To Dr. and Mrs. Sar- 
gent were born four children, namely: Al- 
gernon Millar, a physician of Lincoln, 
whose sketch appears on another page of 
this volume; Julia and ^lar}', twins; and 
Samuel, Jr. The wife and mother, who 
was a de\out and earnest Christian, dieil in 
Lincoln in 1892. 

On attaining his majority Dr. Sargent 
became identified with the Whig party, and, 
being a strong anti-slavery advocate, joined 
the Republican party on its organization, 
and remained one of its stanch supporters 
throughout life. .Vlthough he did not enter 
the army, he believed in the vigorous prose- 
cution of the war, and for several years he 
served as examining ph3-sician for ])ensions, 
it being the only office for which he e\er 
made application. He never cared for polit- 
ical honors, and was ad\'erse to pulilic speak- 
ing. He was a man of fine personal appear- 
ance, embodying health and vigor, and his 
course in lite was ever such as to command 
the respect and confidence of all with whinn 
he came in contact, either in business or 
social life. He met with many obstacles in 
the path to success, Init steadilv overcame 
them, and secured for himself and faniil}' a 
comfortable competence. His pleasant. 



genial manner brought light and encourage- 
ment into the sick-room, and his patients 
always placed in him the utmost confidence. 



WILLIAAI E. SEIDEL. 

.\s super\isor and general manager of 
the Illinois Home for Odd Fellows" Or- 
phans, Mr. William E. Seidel has been a 
competent business man, and has W(_)n the 
approbation of the public. The discharge 
of his duties requires the e.xercise of e.M- 
ceeding patience, kindness and good judg- 
ment, mingled with great firmness and no 
little executive ability. 

The birth of 'Sir. Seidel occurred in 
Reading, Berks county, Penns\-l\ania, Julv 
2, i860, and he is a son of John and Amanda 
( Ebling) Seidel, both of whom were born 
in Pennsylvania, of German ancestry. By 
trade the father was a l.)lacksnuth. and fol- 
lowed this avocation until he became a 
soldier in the Union army, during the Civil 
war. F(jr four }-ears he faithfully per- 
formed his duty, but his health was broken 
when he returned home and he died in 1870, 
at the age of thirtv-se\'en vears. 

The mother of our subject still sur\i\es, 
at the age of seventv-three years, and is now 
the wife of Jacob Warner, a farmer of Berks 
county. Six children were born to her first 
marriage, the five survivors being: Charles, 
a teacher in Lincoln ; AX'illiam E., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Emma, the wife cif 
Cieorge Dunkleberger, of Pennsyhania ; 
Ella, now Mrs. Warner, also of Penns_\l- 
\-ania ; and Sally, the wife of George Dun- 
kleberger, of Pennsvlvania. These all at- 
tended the common schools of Penns\-1- 
^■ania and became well and favoralily kmnvn 
in their se\"eral communities. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



311 



William E. Seidel. our subject, received 
a giind C()niiU(.)n school education, and at the 
age of eighteen years learned the hatter's 
trade, completing his apprenticeship in two 
years, and then he entered a foundry, where 
fi_)r six months he gained \aluable experi- 
ence. Then Air. Seidel was attracted by 
the fine farming lands of the west and went 
to Sedalia. Missouri, where he was eni- 
]ilo\-ed for a short period. Returning tn 
the east, he located in Lincoln, Illinois, and 
became the Ijarber in the State Asylum for 
Eeelile Minded, remaining in that capacity 
for seven years, when he was gi\-en charge 
as outside supervisor, continuing" in the 
duties of that position for the succeeding 
se\"en \ears, when he resigned in 1896 to 
accept the position as supervisor and gen- 
eral manager at the Odd Fellows" Orphans' 
Home. Careful and closely attentive to his 
duties, Mr. Seidel liecame tlmroughly ac- 
quainted with all of the details of this work, 
and as general manager and superintendent 
of the grounds brings to bear his valuable 
ex]ierience. He is a competent gardener, 
and has one assistant, the Ijalance of the 
work on the grounds being performed hv 
the boys of the institution. His personal- 
ity is strong and his energetic methods in- 
spire imitation b}- the inmates. His success 
in directing their efforts has been most en- 
couraging. 

Mr. Seidel has always belonged to the 
Democratic party and has been acti\-e in its 
work. He contributes liberally to the sup- 
port of educational and religious enter- 
prises and is a highlv respected citizen. 
Socially he is connected with Lodge No. 
345, I. O. O. F.. of Lincoln. Mr. Seidel 
is a man c)i amjile means, oA\ns fortv acres 
of \-aluable timber land in Florida, a pro- 
ductive farm of one hundred and sixty acres 
in Edwards. Oklahoma, and a desirable resi- 



dence propert\- in Park Ridge, Chicago, all 
of which property he lias amassed by his 
own efforts antl judicious investments. 



AXTOx ro:mer. 



The German-American element is au 
mipnrtant one in our commonwealth. Its 
rejjresentatives have usually been men of 
determination who have come to the Lnited 
States because they desired to enjoy the bet- 
ter opportunities of this land, and who have 
been loyal to her interests and her institu- 
tions, becoming law-abiding and progress- 
i\-e citizens, of value to the c immunities in 
which they have made their homes. To this 
class belongs Anton Romer, now a retired 
farmer, living in Mount Pulaski. He 
crossed the Atlantic from the Fatherland 
and arri\-ed here empty-lianded, but, with 
determined purpose, has steadily progressed, 
and is now in possession of a handsome 
competence, which enables him to rest from 
acti\-e labor. 

Mr. Romer was born in W'urtemberg, 
German)-, December 19, 1835, a son of An- 
ton and Grace Romer. The mother died in 
Germany, but the father, after following 
farming there for many years, came with 
his famil}- to the new world in 1861, land- 
ing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 
1862 he enlisted for three years' service in 
the Civil war as a member of a Maryland 
regiment, and on his return from the snuth, 
in 1866, he became a guest at a hotel in 
Philadelphia, where he fell from a sixth- 
stor\- window and was instantly killed. 

It was in the year 1853 ^^'^^^ .Anton 
Romer, Jr., the subject of this review, came 
to America. When he arrived in New 
York he had imt mi niey sufficient to pa\' the 



312 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



drayage on his trunk and the drayman kept 
it for the charges. Tims he was left with- 
out anything, — a stranger in a strange land 
— but a man whom he had not previously 
known befriended him and assisted him to 
reach Philadelphia, \\here he soon found 
employment. He had a brother living in 
Delaware, and in that state he secured work 
on a farm, receiving in compensation for his 
services eight dollars per month and his 
board and washing. He also acquired prac- 
tical knowledge of American methods of 
agriculture, and after three years spent in 
Delaware, in the vicinity of the home of his 
brother Joseph, he came to Illinois in 1856, 
locating first in Jacksonville, Morgan coun- 
t_\-, where he was vigorously em])loyed until 
he Ijegan feeding cattle for different people, 
including John Alexander and Judge 
Brown, of Jackson\ille, and soon gained a 
good reputation for his efficiency and care 
in that line. For six vears his time was 
thus passed. 

After his marriage Air. Romer came to 
Logan county, where he spent the summer, 
after which he engaged in farming for 
twelve years on rented land. He not only 
engaged in raising grain hut was also a suc- 
cessful feeder and shipper of cattle and 
hogs, and, saving his money, he was, at 
length, enaljled to purchase two hundred 
and sixty acres of land in Laenna township. 
Remo\-ing to that place, he there carried on 
farming and stock raising, becoming one of 
the largest corn producers in this part of the 
state. During the summer of 1901 he sold 
sixteen thousand bushels of corn at fortv 
cents per bushel. He continued his acti\-e 
farming operations until iqoo, when he re- 
moved to Mount Pulaski, here erecting a 
commodious and attractive residence, in 
which he and his family are now comfort- 
ablv situated. He rents his land and is 



thus largelv li\ing retired from business 
cares. 

In 1864 Mr. Romer was married to Miss 
Alary Bollin, a daughter of John and Agnes 
Bollin, of Sangamon county, Illinois. She 
was born in Germany and was brought to 
America when a little maiden of five sum- 
mers. L'nto Air. and Mrs. Romer have 
lieen born eight children: Joseph, a farmer; 
George and Jacob, who also carry on agri- 
cultural pursuits ; Herman, a druggist, of 
Alinonk, Illinois; Anton, Agnes, Grace and 
Alagdalene, all at home. In his political 
views Mr. Romer is a Democrat, but has 
never aspired to office, preferring to devote 
hi.s time and energies to his business inter- 
ests, which lia\-e lieen so carefull)' and hcm- 
orably conducted that he has won a very 
creditable fortune. 



A. E. RODENBEEK. 

One of the Imsiest, most energetic and 
absolutely relial)le business men of Harts- 
l)urg- is A. E. Rodenbeek, a member of the 
firm of C. Van Gerpen & Company, grain 
merchants and dealers in farnfing imple- 
ments, A native of Germany, he sought in 
America a fa\'orable field for business ac- 
tivity where he would not be hampered Iiy 
caste or class, and, though he was empty- 
handed when he arrived in this country, he 
has steadily worked his wax- u]nvards. brook- 
ing no obstacle that could be o\-ercome Iiy 
determined and honorable purpose. 

His birth occurred in Hano\-er, Germany, 
August 24. 1848, his parents being Edward 
and Bertha Rodenbeek, both of whom were 
nati\-es of the same kingdom, the father 
following the carpenter's trade throughout 
his entire life. Both he and his wife died 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



313 



in Hanover. They liad nine children, of 
whom five came to the United States, 
namely : Frank, a carpenter, of Peoria, 
Illinois: Berend. who died in Pekin. Illi- 
nois; Arend ; Hilke, the wife of C. \ an 
Gerpen, of Hartsbnrg; and Dina, a resident 
of Pekin, Illinois. 

To the pnblic school system of the fa- 
therland I\Ir. Rodenbeek, of this review, is 
indebted for the edncatirmal privileges 
which he enjoyed. He was a yonng man 
of twenty years when, in 1868, he deter- 
mined to try his fortune in America, and. 
bidding good-by to "the little German home 
across the sea,'' he crossed the .\tlantic to 
Baltimore, where he arrived on the 3d of 
July. Making his way at once to Pekin, 
Illinois, he there worked at the blacksmith's 
trade for ten years, after ivhich he removed 
to \\'arsaw, this state, where he again fol- 
lowed Ijlacksmithing thniugh a decade. On 
the expiration of that period he came to 
Hartsliurg. and the business interests of the 
town have been well represented bv him. 
Here entering into partnership with his 
brother-in-law. C. Wan Gerpen. they pur- 
chased a grain elevator and began their 
present Imsiness of l.)uying and shipping 
grain. Their purchases and sales are large 
and profitable, and in addition to this they 
also handle farm implements, maciiinerv 
and wagons, in which they haxe a large pat- 
ronage. Their business methods are above 
reproach and their honoral)ie dealing and 
earnest desire to please have secured to them 
a very large patronage. 

In 1890, in Brazil. Indiana, occurred 
the marriage of I\Ir. Rodenbeek and iNFiss 
Mattie Witty, of Clay county, that state, a 
daughter of B. ^^'itty, a well-known Indi- 
ana farmer. They now have one child. 
Mattie, who was born in 1892. Both our 
subject and his wife are most estimable peo- 



ple, and their circle of friends is extensi\-e. 
In politics our subject was formerly very 
active, and his support is ever given to the 
men and measures of the Republican party. 
Socially he is connected with Hancock 
Lodge. Xo. 42, I. O. O. P.. of Warsaw. 
Illinois. Such, in brief, is the history of 
one of the most enterprising German-Amer- 
ican citizens of Logan county. He has 
ne\'er had occasion to regret his determina- 
tion to make a home in the new world, for 
in the land of the free he has found the op- 
portunity he sought, and through business 
ability and unfaltering purpose has achieved 
creditable prosperitv. 



JAMES N. LOXGAN. 

The business interests of Hartsburg are 
well represented by James X^. Longan, a 
wide-awake, enterprising general merchant, 
whose activity in commercial affairs adds 
considerable to the business prosperitv of 
the community while promoting his indi- 
vidual successes. His residence in this 
portion of the count}' dates from 1862, at 
which time he located in Orvil township. 
He was born in Lycoming county, Pennsyl- 
vania, July 4, 1836, liis parents being 
Thomas C. and Mary Ann (Xice) Longan. 
The father was born on the ocean, in X'o- 
vember, 1806, while his parents were en 
route for the new world. They went direct 
to Lycoming county, where the little son 
was reared, and after attaining a proper age 
he learned the harness maker's trade, which 
he followed in the village of Jersey Shore, 
Pennsyhania. for several years. On ac- 
count of ill health he eventually abandoned 
his trade and began farming in Lycoming 
county, continuing in that occupation with 



314 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



llie exccptiun oi two years, durins; wliic'li 
time lie served as count)- treasurer, until his 
life's labors were eiuled in death in iSyy. 
He was tiirice married, his lirst union being 
witli Ehzabetli Xice. who died, leaving; a 
daugiiter, to wliom had been gi\L'n ihe 
mother's name. Mr. Longan then married 
iNlary Ann Nice, a sister of his first wife and 
the mother of our subject. Her death oc- 
curred in W'illiamsport. IVnnsyhania. She 
had fi\e children: James X.. of this re- 
\iew : C)li\er Watson, now deceased: John, 
who (bed at the age of t\vel\e years; Will- 
iam v.. ;i resident of Denver, Colorado: and 
Thomas 1'.. agent for the Illinois Central 
Railroad at Lincoln, hor his third wife 
.Mr. Longan chose Margaret Cummings. 
who is also deceased, and by whom lie had 
one child, Albert iioyd, now a resident of 
the Keystone .state. 

.\fter obtaining a common school edu- 
cation and arri\ing at years of business 
iliscretion. Mr. Longan, of this re\iew, lie- 
gan farming in Lycoming county, I'ennsyl- 
\ania, where he remained for two years. 
He was married there in iSdo to Harriet 
A. Minsker. a native, of Delaware and a 
daughter of Moses and Mary Minsker. She 
died in i88j, lea\ing a ilaughter, ^Lar\- 
Irene, who was bt)rn in .\pril, ^^>()\. She 
acts as her father's housekeeper ami is also 
engaged in dressmaking in H.artsburg. 

Xot long after bis marriage Mr. Longan 
abandoned farming in Lycoming count}' and 
removed to Logan county, Illinois, settling 
on a farm near llarlsburg, where he con- 
tinued to engage in the tilling of the soil and 
tlie im])rovement of his projierty until 187J. 
He then embarketl in the grain business in 
Hartsburg, representing .\. W. Raw of 
Delavan, and for ten or twelve years he con- 
tinued to buy and sell grain at this place. 
At tlie same time be acted as agent for the 



L nited States l--.\press Com])aiiv at Harts- 
biu'g. When he retired from the grain 
trade he rested from business activity for 
about three years, when, in 1890, he estab- 
lished a general mercantile store, in which 
be carries a large and well-selected stock of 
dry goods, groceries, hardware, tinware, 
luitions and other goods usually foiuid in an 
establishment of this character. He enjoys 
a liberal patronage, is sxstematic and 
methodical in his business habits, and liy his 
lionest}- and earnest desire to please he has 
gained a large tratle. In connection with 
his store he owns a pleasant residence at 
the north end of Main street. 

Mr. Longan exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures 
of the Republican party, and for four terms 
has ser\ed as collector oi Orvil township, 
lie belongs-to the .\ncient Order of United 
\\ iirkmen. and his daughter is a member 
of the Catholic church. Throughout bis 
business career be has Ijorne an unassailalile 
re|)utation. ;md no one is more worthy of 
mention among the representative citizens of 
Logan count\- than Tames X. Longan. 



D.Wll) GILCHRIST. 

David (iilchrist is living retiretl in Lin- 
coln, having through vears of active and 
honorable labor acijuiretl the capital that 
now enables him to put aside business cares 
and yet enji <\ the comforts which go to make 
life worth the living. His is an honorable 
old age, in which he receives the \eneration 
and respect of yoinig and old. rich and poor, 
for iiis career has lieen characterized by 
tidelity to duty and to principle, 

Mr. Gilchrist is one of the worthy citizens 
that Scotland has furnished to Logan coun- 




D. GILCHRIST. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



317 



ty, liis l)irtli lia\-ing- occurred in Kirkciul- 
briglitshire, on tlie Jist of December, 1815. 
His ])arents, William and Jane (Clark) Gil- 
christ, were alsoi natives of that land, and the 
father was a shoemaker by trade. The com- 
mon schools near his home aff(3rded our sub- 
ject his educational privileges, and under the 
parental roof he remained until his majority, 
when he started out upon his business career, 
being employed by a neighljoring farmer 
until the spring of 1842. Attracted by the 
j)ossil)ilities of the new world, he then 
crossed the briny deep, and after landing at 
Xew ^'| irk made his way to Bristol county, 
Rhode island, where he again secured em- 
ployment on a farm, remaining in that state 
for three years. 

On the expiration of that period Mr. 
Gilchrist came toi Illinois, and since 1845 has 
been a resident of Logan county. He se- 
cured a claim of eighty acres, for which he 
])aid one hundred and fifty-two dollars, and 
in true pioneer style he began life in the 
Avest. The homes of the settlers were widely 
.scattered, but hospitality reigned supreme, 
and many pleasures were enjoyed that are 
not known at the present day. There were 
also many hardships to be borne in develop- 
ing a new farm, but with genuine Scotch 
thrift and commendable enterprise Mr. Gil- 
christ continued his work, and his labors re- 
sulted in (lex'eloping a splendid propert}'. As 
the years passed his labors and euergy 
brought to him a good financial reward, 
and he made iudicious investments in 
lancl uiUil he is now the owner of fif- 
teen hundred acres — the material evidence 
of his business activity. He made a specialtv 
of the raising of cattle and hogs, which he 
fattened for the market and sold at a good 
price. He also had extensi\-e corn and 
A\heat fields and his production in thoise lines 
Avas large. His farming o]>eratioins in the 



course of time became ver}- extensive and 
profitable, and with a \-ery handsome com- 
petence he retired to his pleasant home in 
Lincoln and put aside the arduous duties 
of the farm. 

Mr. Gilchrist has been twice married. 
He first wedded Helen McMath, in June, 
1839. She died in Orvil township, in No- 
\ember, 1858, leaving seven children: 
William, a resident of Nebraska; James, of 
Or\il township; Margaret, the wife of 
Henry C. Johnson, of Ford countv, Illi- 
nois; Mary, the wife of Benjanun Geddis, 
of Eminence township; David J., who is 
also living in the same township; Robert, 
of Nebraska; and Helen, the wife of V. A. 
Ellis, of Nebraska. Helen AIcMillan, a 
twin of Robert, died November 7, 1852, at 
the age of fifteen months, and William died 
in infancy. For his second wife ]\lr. Gil- 
christ chose Mrs. Mary Marr, the widow 
of Edward Marr. He was a native of 
Scotland, and came to America in i860, his 
death occurring in 1863. Mrs. Qilchrist 
was born in Roxburyshire, Scotland, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1829, and by her first marriage 
she had six children, four of whom are liv- 
ing: John E., of \\'edington, Arkansas; 
William; T., of Fayetteville, .Arkansas; 
Mary Anna; and Edward T.. of Logan 
count}-; Timothy I', and Thomas Wallace, 
both of whom died in infancy. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gilchrist have had four children — ■ 
LifTey Adelia, who died February 19, 1886, 
at the age of twenty y^ars and six months; 
and Joseph Abrahaiu Lincoln Gilchrist, of 
Lincoln; and two who died in infanc\'. 

^\'hile residing in Or\-il township Mr. 
(iilchrist served for se\'eral terms as trus- 
tee and was also a member of the school 
boaixk In January, 1881, he rented His 
farm and removed to Lincoln, where he 
now has a very pleasant home. He has 



3'8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



been tlie architect of his own fortunes and 
has builded wisely and well, for, though he 
started out in life for himself empty-handed, 
he has steadily worked his way upward, and 
his resolute spirit and laudable ambition, 
resting upon untiring efifort, have brought 
to him most gratiifying and well-merited 
Ijrosperity. He had but one hundred and 
ten dollars when he arri\-e(I in Illinois, 
\\hich condition is in marked contrast to 
his present financial standing. In politics 
he is a Repul;)lican. and has e\"er been loyal 
to the best interests of his adopted land. 
In 1882 he went to Scotland, visiting the 
scenes of his boyhood, which he had not 
seen for forty years. Although he saw 
many familiar landmarks, there were also 
many changes wb^xh timei and man had 
wrought. At the age of eighty-six, he is 
now living quietly in Linciiln, l)ut is still 
hale and heartv, retaining his faculties un- 
impaired. He was reared in the estab- 
lished church of Scotlantl. but after coming 
to Illinois became a member of the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian church, in which he 
has served as ruling elder for a number of 
years. 



JOHX R. GRIXTER. 

John R. Grinter, deceased, was for many 
years actively identified with the agricultural 
interests of this county, and was a man of 
prominence in his community. A native of 
Kentucky, he was born in Logan county, 
that state, August 17, 1823, and was a son 
of Francis and Susan (Reed) Grinter, who 
were of old Virginian stock and were the 
parents of four children. 

Our subject received a good, practical 
education in the common schools of his na- 



tive state, and early acc]uired an excellent 
knowledge of agricultural pursuits, which 
he made his life work. Coming to Illinois, 
in 1 85 1, he purcliased a farm in ]\It. Hope, 
where he followed his chosen occupation 
until 1863, when he came to Atlanta, mak- 
ing this place his home throughout the re- 
mainder of his life. He bought a farm in 
Oran township, this county, and to its cul- 
tivation devoted his energies until cp.lled 
to his final rest February 5, 1897. 

At Jonesboro, Tennessee, October 19, 
1849. ^I''- Grinter was united in marriage 
with Miss Sarah Young, who was born in 
that state, on the 22d of June, 1830. and was 
a daughter of Henry Young, also a native 
of Tennessee. By this union the following 
children were born : Francis H., a resident 
of St. Louis; Mary F.. now Airs. George 
Teal : Mrs, Imogene Clark, who is living 
with her mnther : John S. : and three de- 
ceased. 

Mr, Grinter (leser\-ed great credit for 
the success he achie\'ed in life, as at an early 
age he was compelled to seek his own live- 
lihood and aid in the support of the family. 
Being a great reader and a lover of books of 
Aaluable information, lie acquired an excel- 
lent knowledge of men and afYairs. and may 
be termed a self-educated as well as self- 
made man. He always made the most of 
his opportunities throughout life and became 
quite well-to-do. Xear the close of the 
^Mexican \\ar he enlisted as second lieuten- 
ant in the Russellville (Tventucky) Light 
Guards, but was ne\'er called into active 
ser\'ice owing to the cessation of hostilities 
soon afterward. He was a great temper- 
ance worker and a strong Prohibitionist. 
Religiously he was a devout member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and was 
one of the chief instigators in the building 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



319 



of the Lincoln L'niversity. He was a kind 
and devoted liusband and fatlier and was 
well liked by his fellow citizens, who seemed 
to appreciate his sterling worth and many 
excellences of character. His estimable 
wife still attends ti_) his farming- interests in 
Oran township, bnt Ii\es in Atlanta, where 
she owns a nice residence. Here she is 
spending;- Iier declining- years, surrounded by 
a larg-e circle of friends and accpiaintances, 
who hold her in hio-h ree-ard. 



DAXIEL L. BRAUCHER. 

For almost sixty years this gentleman 
has been identified with the interests of Lo- 
gan county, and is now efficiently serving 
as County surveyor, his honie being in Lin- 
coln. He was born in Pickawa}- county, 
Ohio, March i, 1833, and is a son of Isaac 
R. and Rachel ( Ludwig) Braucher, both of 
whom were of German descent. Our sub- 
ject's paternal grandfather, Conrad Braucii- 
er. was a native of Germanv, and 011 his 
emigration to America settled in Pennsyl- 
vania. The father was born in that state, 
October 8, 1800, and in early life removed 
to Pickaway county, Ohio, where he was 
united in marriage with Rachel Luchvig, 
who was born in 1810. and was a daughter 
of Daniel Ludwig. In 1835 they came to 
Illinois, and located on the Sangamon river 
near Springfield, wliere iNlr. Braucher pur- 
chased a steam sawmill, which be operated 
for soiue time, being a miller by trade. In 
1842 he came to Logan county and settled 
on Salt creek, in Aetna township, ha\-ing 
prex'iouslv purchased a mill site there. He 
Ijuilt a sawmill and in 1848 completed the 
erection of a gristmill, which he successfully 
carried on for some time, but final 1\- sold 



this property and bought a farn-i, making it 
his home until his death, which occurred 
July 27, 1870. The mother of our sub- 
ject died May 6, 1848. 

Daniel L. Braucher, of this re\icw, was 
educated in the Liberal Instigate, now Lom- 
bard L^niversity, where be pursued a scien- 
tific course. On leaving school he returned 
home and devoted bis time and energies to 
farming. On the 15th of June, 1856, he 
was united in marriage with ]\Iiss Henrietta 

C. Hill, a daughter of Frederick and Salome 
(Fowler) Hill. By this union were born 
nine children: William B., of Danville, 
Illinois; Alma E., who was graduated in 
medicine and engaged in practice in Lincoln 
for some time, l)Ut ga\'e up her office to 
assist in the care of her brother's mother- 
less child; Arthur C. ; Edward R. ; Daniel 
L., now deceased; Ernest N., of Chica- 
go; Herbert H., who is a teacher in the 
Lincoln high school ; Ralph Waldo is now 
an inspector in the horticultural department 
of Ohio; and Stella May, deceased. 

After his marriage Air. Braucher locat- 
ed on section jg, Aetna township, and suc- 
cessfully engaged in the operation of a farm 
of two hundred acres, which he placed un- 
der a high state of culti\'ation and improved 
by tiling and erecting good buildings there- 
on. Laying aside all personal interests, Mr. 
Braucher entered the L^nion army during 
tlie Ci\'il war, enlisting in 1862 in Company 

D, One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Volun- 
teer Infantry, under Colonel R. B. Latham. 
His regiment was assigned to the Army of 
the Tennessee, and did provost duty for a 
time at Jackson, Tennessee. Mr. Braucher 
took part in several engagements and skir- 
mishes, and was also in the siege of Vicks- 
burg until the surrender of that stronghold 
on Sunday. July 4, 1863. After the fall 
of Vicksl)urg he went A\ith his cnminand to 



320 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Helena, .\rkansas, and from there to Little 
Rock and Pine Blnff. \\'hen hostilities 
ceased he was honorahly .lischarpfed June 
12. 1865, and returned tn Lincnhi, his \\u"e 
having located here while he was at the 
front. 

In the fall nf iS(>^ Mr. i'.raucher was 
elected county surveyor on the Repuhlican 
ticket, and served in that capacity fmu" 
years tn the entire satisfaction uf his cim- 
stituents, Init declined further Imncirs alcmg" 
that line. He then turned his attention to 
the manufacture of a mill machine, known 
as the Little Giant Comhined Feeder. Smut- 
ter and Separator, and continued in th;it 
husiness until 1885, wdien the roller system 
was introduced, and he discontinued the 
manufacture of his machine. He had done 
an extensi\c husiness for some fifteen years. 
He then engaged in ci\'il engineering and 
surveying until the fall of iqoo. when he was 
elected county surveyor on the Democratic 
ticket. In 1S78 he was elected mayor of 
Lincoln on the (jreenl)ack ticket, and credit- 
ably filled that office one term. In jiolitics 
he is independent and in his present ca])acity 
as county surveyor has served the ])eo]5le 
longer than any other li\-ing citizen in this 
county. Socially he is a memlier of Alt. 
Pula.ski Lodge, No. Hj. A. F. ..K: A. }>1.. Imm 
which he dimitted soon after the war. He 
is one of Logan county's honored pioneers 
and representative citizens, and this \olume 
would he inc(jmplete without the record of 
his life. 



FREDERICK DITTUS. 

h'rcderick Dittus. a retired farmer re- 
siding in Mount Pulaski, is numbered 
among the earl\- settlers of Logan county, 
as he came to this section of the state among 



those who laid the foundation for its pros- 
perity and progress by 1)raying the hard- 
ships of ])ioneer life and thus o])ening the 
wa_\- to ci\-ilization. Throughout the long 
years of his residence here his career has 
been an n])riglit, h(_)norable one, gaining for 
him the un(piahfied confidence and regard 
of his fellow men. 

i\Ir. Dittus was born in \\'urteml;erg", 
Germany, Januar}- jS, 1831,. and is a son 
of John and Mary .\. (Rentsjnler) Dittus. 
Tlie former, a farmer by occupation, died in 
his nati\e land, and the motlier afterwards ~ 
became the wife of Erhardt Stoll. who in 
1847 brought his wife and her children to 
tlie new world, crossing the Atlantic in a 
sailing yessel, which completed the yoyage 
in forty-se\en days. .Arriving in Xew "^'ork, 
they proceeded directl}- by steamlioat, canal 
and wagon to Springfield, Illinois, and in 
the spring of 1848 removed to Logan coun- 
ty', locating in Laenna towus'n]), where Mr. 
Stoll purchased eighty acres of land. He 
added to this place until he had two hun- 
dred acres at the time of his death, which 
occurred in i860. His wife sur\i\ed him 
and continued to make her home on the old 
farm until called to her final rest. 

Frederick ]3ittus is the oklest li\ing 
child of his mother's first marriage. He 
attended the common schools of Ciermany 
between the ag-es of six and fourteen years, 
and with the fannly he crossed the Atlantic 
in 1847. arriving in Logan county the fol- 
lowing year. Here he assisted in the culti- 
\'ation and imi>royement of the home farm 
until he w;is t\\ent\-six \ears of age. when 
he made prei)arations for a liome of his own 
by his marriage to Miss Sarah Hagenliuch, , 
a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter • 
of Amos and Sarah Hagenbuch. who were 
early settlers of Logan county, coming to 
this state from Pennsylvania in 1859. 



I 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



321 



Alter liis marriage ^h'. Dittus pur- 
cliased eiglity acres of land in Chester town- 
ship and locating thereon hegan its improve- 
ment \\ ith characteristic energy. In course 
of time the entire amount was under a high 
state of cultivation and as the years passed 
and his financial resources increased he 
made <ither purchases until within the bnun- 
daries of his farm is comprised four hun- 
dred and fifty acres of valiiable land. He 
successfully engaged in the raising^ of grain, 
lidgs and cattle and in his farm wi.irk ]3ros- 
pered from year to year, thus annually 
augmenting his income. At length, in 1891, 
he i)ut aside the more arduous duties of the 
farm, tn which he had given his earnest and 
unremitting attention for so many years, 
and removed to ]Mount Pulaski, where he is 
now practically li\-ing a retired life, merely 
superintending his inx'estments. 

The marriage of ]\Ir. and ^Irs. Dittus 
has lieen hlessed with five children: George 
F., who is engaged in farming; William, 
who follows the same pursuit; Charles E., 
who is operating the old homestead ; Anna, 
the wife of Fred Aleyer, of Baker & Son 
department store, of East St. Louis, Illinois ; 
and Edward, a well-known lumber merchant 
of Mount Pulaski. The fanuly is one of 
prominence in the communitv. the sterling 
worth nf its members !)eing- widel}- acknowl- 
e<lge(I. While acti\-ely carrying on his busi- 
ness interests ;\Ir. Dittus has found time to 
faithfully perform his duties of citizenship 
and has rendered efficient service to his fel- 
low men in public office. For manv years 
he was a member of the school Imard and 
was clerk of the board in Chester township. 
He was also superyisor of Chester town- 
shij) for eight years and retired from 
office as he entered it — with the con- 
fidence and gdiid will of his constit- 
uents. He is niiw a Gold Democrat 



and has long ad\-ocated the principles of 
Democracy. Throughout the greater part 
of his life he has been a member of the 
Lutheran church, has served on the board 
for more than thirty years and has been 
church treasurer for the past eight years. 
His home is a fine substantial residence in 
^hiimt Pulaski, a ni(.>numenL to his thrift 
antl enterprise in former years. His life 
record proves most conchisiyely that suc- 
cess is not a matter of genius, but the out- 
come I if earnest effort, carefull_\' directed by 
sound judgment and his example should 
ser\-e to stimulate and encourage others to 
press forward along the highway to pros- 
perit\". 



DOUGLAS C. SIMPSOX. 

One of the most pul)lic-spirited and pro- 
gressive citizens of Lincoln is Douglas 
C. .Simpson, ^vho is now so alih' rep- 
resenting the fifth ward in the city 
CDuncil. He was born in W'arren coun- 
ty. Ohio, August 20, i860, and is 
a son of Jeremiah Simpson, of wliom ex- 
tended mention is made in the sketch of 
John .\, Simpson, on another page of this 
volume. Our subject was only fotir years 
old when the family came to Lincoln, and 
in its public schools he received his literary 
education, while his business education has 
been self-acquired. After lea\ing school he 
entered the office of the Sentinel to learn the 
printer's trade, and worked two years on 
that paper and two years on the Weekl_\- 
Herald. On account of ill health he was at 
length obliged to give up that business, and 
then turned his attention to learning the 
trade of carriage painting, which he fuj- 
lowed for two years. He next worked for 
his father as a carpenter, ?nd it was not 



322 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



long before he had thorouglily mastered 
that vocation, liecoming a very competent 
workman. He has liad the superintendency 
of all of the best work done by his brother, 
John A. Simpson, who is one of the leading- 
contractors and builders of Lincoln. Our 
subject has assisted in the erection of many 
of the largest buildings of the city, and has 
had charge of resetting the new plate-glass 
fronts in the stores his father built. 

Mr. Simpson was married in Lincoln, 
December 28, 1882, to Miss Hannah Belle 
Kern, who was born in Ohio, June 18, i860, 
and was educated in the public schools of 
Champaign. Her parents were \\'esle\' and 
Nancy (Shull) Kern, natives of Virginia 
and Pennsylvania, respectively. In 1872 
Mr. Kern br(jught his family to Lincoln, Illi- 
nois, where he spent the remainder of his 
life. By trade he was also a carpenter, and 
was killed while at work on a building in 
1892, at the age of sixty-seven years. His 
wife died in 1881, at the age of sixty. They 
liad nine children, of whom two sons and 
two daughters are now tleceased. Those 
living are Mrs. W. N. Sherman, Mrs. M. 
E. Lasher, Alonzo H. and Mrs. Sadie 
Strickler, all residents of Chicago ; and JNIrs. 
D. C. Simpson, wife of our suliject. ]Mr. 
and Mrs. Simpson have seven children : 
Harry C, John A., Jesse W., Nellie D., 
May L., Earl R. and Anna Margaret. 

Soon after his marriage ]Mr. Simpson 
purchased a nice home on North Hamilton 
street. In politics he is an ardent Republi- 
can, and has taken a \er\- acti\e part in 
party work, laboring untiringly to promote 
its interests. In the spring of 190 1 he was 
elected alderman of the fifth ward, and is 
now filling that office with credit to him- 
self and to the entire satisfaction of his 
constituents. He is a member of several 
important committees, such as streets and 



alleys, lights, printing, fire and water, public 
grounds and buildings, sanitary, sewer and 
drainage, and miscellaneous. He has taken 
an active interest in promoting all move- 
ments for the benefit of the city and has 
done his part in pushing them to completion. 
Mr. Simpson was one of a comnuttee who 
were instrumental in getting the two per 
cent, tax from the state for the benefit and 
support of ]niblic libraries. He is decidedly 
in favor of municipal ownership and agi- 
tates such questions very strongly. Frater- 
nally lie is a member of the Sons of Vet- 
erans, his father having served in the Civil 
war, and he is also a member of the local 
fire department and the Illinois State Fire- 
man's Association. This department has 
alwaxs been of great interest to him, and he 
does all within his power f(.ir its benefit. 



PETER SAXDEL. 



This well-known and successful farmer 
and stock dealer, residing on section 20, 
Chester township, is a native of Baden, Ger- 
many, born near Heidelberg, on the 29th 
of January, 1861. His parents, ^lichacl and 
Mary (Bock) Sandel, were born in the same 
place, the former in 1828, and the latter in 
1833. ■ After acquiring a good common 
school education the father engaged in farm- 
ing" in his nati\-e land until 1880, when he 
came to the Lnited States, bringing with 
him his famil_\-. On landing in this country 
he proceeded at once to Illinois, his destina- 
tion being Logan county, where he has since 
made his home. Here he continued to fol- 
low farming until 1893, \\hen he removed 
to Lincoln, and having laid aside all business 
cares is now living a retired life, though he 
still enjoys good health. He is a member 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



323 



of the Evangelical church nt Lincoln, and 
takes an. acti\e part in its work. In his 
faniih' were ele\en children, of whom five 
died in (iermany in early chitdhood, and one 
dieil in America, in 1880, at the age of six- 
teen years. Those still living are Henry, a 
baker of Brooklyn, New York; Peter, the 
subject of this sketch; Margaret, wife of 
Fred Julch, a farmer of Oklahoma: Philip, 
also a farmer of Oklahoma ; and George, a 
resident of Chester township, this county. 
They were all educated either in the public 
schools of German\- or this cotuitrv, and re- 
mained with tlieir parents, working on the 
home farm until they established homes of 
their own. 

Peter Sandel attended school in the fa- 
therland until fourteen years of age, but his 
English education has been self-accjuired 
since the emigration of the family to Amer- 
ica. He remained under the parental roof 
until twenty-live years of age, and was then 
married, September 6, 1886, to Miss Mary 
Leinweber, who was born in Germany, 
April 28, 1868, and was only a year old 
when brought by her parents to the new 
world, the family locating in Mason county, 
Illinois, where she was reared, educated and 
married. Her father is now deceased, but 
her mother is still living in Mason county, 
which is also the home of nine of her tweh'C 
children. Two of the family reside in Xe- 
l)raska. while Mrs. Sandel is the only one 
of the number living in Logan coiuitv. 
There were six children born to our subject 
and his wife, but two died in infancy. The 
others are Anna, Eniil, Hattie and Luella, 
all at home attending the district school ui 
the neighborhood. 

After his marriage ]\Ir. Sandel settled 
on a farm of two hundred acres in Sheridan 
township, near New Holland, and in 1894 
came to Chester township, where he has 



since successfully engaged in general farm- 
ing on a tract of four hundred and seventy 
acres owned by F. C. W. Koehnle. He is 
also engaged in buying and selling cattle 
and in grain dealing. He has made all 
needed impro\-ements upon his place, and is 
regarded as one of the most systematic and 
thorough farmers of his community. 

Fraternally Iioth Mr. and ^Irs. Sandel 
are members of the Modern Federal Amer- 
ica Lodge, of Lincoln, and he carries an en- 
dowment insurance of four thousand dollars. 
Religiously he is a member of the E\-an- 
gelical church. Formerly he affiliated with 
the Democratic party, but now votes the 
Republican ticket, and he served as road 
commissioner in Sheridan township. He 
has never been an aspirant for office, but 
gives his personal attention to his farming 
interests and has thereby met with success. 
He is one of the leading men of his town- 
ship, and is held in high regard by all who 
know him. 



JAMES BURNS. 



James Burns, who is the operator of one 
of the largest farms in Broadwell township, 
and a useful citizen of Logan county, was 
born in Countv Limerick, Ireland, June 13, 
1864, and is a son of Patrick and Margaret 
(Day) Burns. Patrick Burns was a native 
and resident of Ireland for a number of 
vears, coming to the L^nited States with his 
familv in September, 1864, when James was 
an infant. At that time he possessed but 
limited means, but by his industry and econ- 
omy he became the owner of a good farm in 
Elkhart township, which he rented, makinp- 
his home on the farm now occupied by 
James Burns, where he died July 10, 1891, 
at the age of fiftv-seven vears. His death 



3^4 THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 

was imexj^eaed, as he "i"-" .. > !-*«» in in§f a large number of cattk and bo^s, . .v 

\-igorvH3S healih. His elides \\-ith has a nne farm of one hinHlreri ami sixtv 

our saabjec: ^ ^ acnes, parrly under ccdtivalkin. in xoester:: 

ne\-er ' \ - ^" " -^ " ■. - . • ■; 

j^anv, ^ ■ . . • . - - - ■ 

party, Sevtaal local offices were offered and actiw member of the Deniixxatic 

bim. bill he de: jerve in aj:- he has edtkie:- manv of ihe * 



dren bom t\> hin> and wife wen. - - being re-ekcu - the ensaii^ tw - 

Ca:" " ■ - ■"' - ' -^ . 

rjo% ^ ... ^. .,>.,. .... - ^. - - - .. 

ing^ v>»i a farm in Corwin t . James, the c v>n fee? an ' 

tl^e subject of this sfcetc " .is. a farmer salar\ ~ .irioM srhile in 

■ . '^ ■ ■; of h:. ., 

tit - - - . , - 

While h«t an infant James Bums, the officials in the cvxmty, 
subiec: of this sketch, can>e : .. Mr, Bums is a3si> 

\vi:^- -- --;■-. - -; — ' -■— < ^— -; 

the . ^ . . . ~ 

district. Later he took an ekcti\-e cxHirse at of Foresters., UnciiJn Coor*. Xo. lOi i: 
Xotre l>an>e, 1 ^ 

\-ear, aixi then ,. , , .,..,.,... . .„...-, , 

father i, in Lijici'>3in, Mr. Bnnus is v«t\- we'" 

csnlier 5 ^ >uhieci was known thro«gh the coontv- and is Tmix^w- 



y 



WTs- .yatcd in her n*ti»-e cotmtry church, of which rfjey are liberal sa|ipi>ners, 

ami tiieie iiecame a teacher. In iSoi she 

■ . . ~. HOX- L-WVREXCE R STRIXGER- 

iwesm-three x^ears had o»tx-«iea as a ^iest 

of Si. " - " - " ^ . " ' ., - - "-" ^ 

Thrxsf ... . .. V. ...... ........ - , -.-- ,^. . ...... 

Mrs.. BiJTOs. r. - F,. R S: .. . .r of the law 

aixl J«li.-». niTO of iv" ^ ., . , of LincoJn. and 

:^o ~ - . - - . 

- - - ^ <ii. and «i» to wn y^ears r« age re> . 

lije re^ aii- in xar - of Xew jer- 

wc^" • - - ^r^ ^ - _ - V"-- 

exu -..-,. ^. , ^ , , , , 

fanning^ anil stock raisii^. Utyii^ ami fifetl- ner diaracteristic of the ministry of tfiat de- ' 

I 

I 




L. B. STRINGER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



327 



nomination. In 1876 he went with liis par- 
ents to Beloit, \\'isconsin, residing there 
three years, and tlien going t<:) La Sahe cimn- 
ty, lUinois., His primary education, ac- 
quired in the pubHc schools, was supplement- 
ed by a course at Gitting's Seminary, a liter- 
aiy institution located at LaHarpe, Illinois, 
which he attended from 1879 until 1882, 
graduating in the latter }ear. During vaca- 
tions he was employed in the newspaper 
ofifices of the village, where he learned the 
trade of a practical printer. In 1884 he 
came to Lincoln and entered Linci An L'niver- 
sity, now the Lincoln College of the James 
]\Iilliken University, and was graduated at 
that institution with the degree of A. B. in 
1887. While in college he particularly inter- 
ested himself in oratorical work, winning the 
college oratorical contest o\"er five competi- 
tors in 1885, and again in 1886, and repre- 
senting Lincoln Lhii\-ersity at the Inter-Col- 
legiate State contest in 1886. After gradua- 
tion he was connected with the Lincoln 
Times in a journalistic cajjacity for several 
years. In 1894 he entered the Chicago Col- 
lege of Law, which is the law department 
of Lake Forest University, and on complet- 
ing the i)rescribed course was graduated in 
189(1 and admitted tO' the bar in June of that 
same }-ear. The following year' he took a 
post-graduate course in the same institution, 
and was granted the degree of LL. B. He 
began the practice of his profession at Lin- 
coln in .\ugust, 1898, and in its prosecution 
lias met with excellent success. 

On the 1 8th of December, 1890, Mr. 
Stringer was united in marriage with Miss 
Helen Pegram, daughter of A\''iniam A. Pe- 
gram, oi Lincoln. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Pythias and the Im- 
proved Order of Red Men, and was for three 
years grand trustee of the grand lodge of 
Illinois, Knights of Pythias. 

18 



At an early age Mr. Stringer became in- 
terested in politics, making his first cam- 
paign speeches in 1884, when eighteen years 
of age, and he has stumped the state tmder 
the direction of the Democratic state com- 
mittee in every campaign since. He was 
nominated for state representative at Deca- 
tur in 1890 for the old ^Macon-Logan 
ciiunty district, and although the district 
had before been considered a Republi- 
can district, he was elected by a plur- 
alit_\- of twent_\--three hundred and ten. 
He was the youngest memlier of the 
thirty-seventh general assembly, and re- 
cei\ed a chairmanship of a committee 
— an hcjniir rarely ever accorded a first 
termer. He was chosen by caucus to second 
the nomination of General John M. Palmer 
for Lhiited States senator in the joint assem- 
bly, and was one of the famous "loi" who 
voted eight weeks to elect General Palmer ta 
that position. As a member of the committee 
oai lab( r in that body he took especial interest 
in measures introduced on behalf of organ- 
ized labor. More measures were passed at 
this session of the legislature in the 
interests of the coal miners of the state 
than at any jn-ex'ious session, and fur this 
• result the miners' organizations were not 
tardy in officially giving a large measure 
I if the credit therefor to Mr. Stringer. In 
the Chicago mavoraltv contest of i8c)i, upon 
the invitation of the citv Democratic com- 
mittee, he made a speaking campaign of 
two weeks in that city, and in the fall 
of the same }-ear accompanied General 
Palmer on a campaigning tour through the 
state of Iowa. He was renominated for rep- 
resentative b}' acclamation in 1892, was re- 
elected by a handsome majority in the same 
district, and became a member of the thirty- 
eighth general assembly. In this body he 
was made chairman of the committee on edu- 



328 



THE BIOGRAPHIC.\L RECORD. 



cation, and was the author of the hill whicli 
took tlie place of the well-known Edwards 
compulsory-education law. He also assisted 
in the preparation of the Australian ballot 
law which was passed at this session, in 
January, 1894, lie received an appointment 
under the Cleveland administration in the 
United States pension service, with head- 
quarters at Chicago. "In June, 1900, at Ha- 
\ ana, Illinois, he was nominated without op- 
position for state senator by the delegates 
from the four counties then comprising the 
thirty-secoaid district, namely, Logan, Ma- 
son, Menard and Cass counties. During the 
cjunpaign he did not confine his attention to 
his immediate district, but campaigned the 
state under the direction of the state com- 
mittee, accompanying \\'illiam J. llryan upon 
his special Illinois tour. Mr. Stringer was 
elected to the state senate by a plurality of 
twenty-two hundred and twenty-two. 'lyeing 
ii\-er two hundred votes greater than Mr. 
I5ryan's plurality in the district. He was 
selected by the joint Democratic caucus in 
the forty-second general assembly tO' formal- 
Iv present the name of Hon.- Samuel Alschul- 
er as the Democratic candidate for United 
States senator, the speech so nominating 
^Ir. Alschuler being delivered in the state 
>enate January 22, 1901, and a full text of 
which was printed in the Chicago and St. 
Louis papers and circulated by the state com- 
mittee as a campaign document. 'Mr. Stringer 
was a member of all the leading committees 
of the forty-second general assembly, includ- 
ing the special committee on the revision of 
the ])ractice laws of the state, took an active 
part in legislation, and was the author ot sev- 
eral important measures which found their 
way to the statute books of the state. After 
the session he was apiwinted by the Demo- 
cratic committee as chairman of the sub-com- 



mittee to inquire into and pass upon the con- 
stitutionality of the new apportii niment act, 
witli a \iew to attacking it m the courts. 



HURLEY McCARREL. 

Hurle_\- McCarrel, deceased, was one of 
the leading and representative farmers of 
Logan count\'. He was born on the 28th 
I if July. ]826, in Allegany county. New 
York, and was a smi of John and Miranda 
( Boardwell ) McCarrel, the former a native 
of Ireland, the latter of Pennsyhania. The Aj 
father died when our subject was only six 
years old. but the mother long survi\-ed him, 
(hiiig in Texas in 1888. 

^Ir. McCarrel was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of his nati\'e state and when a 
mere lad worked in a dairy to assist in the 
su])pi.irt (if his widowed mother. In 1844 he 
came to Illinois, and after spending a short 
time in Lond count\' took up his residence 
in Logan county, where he continued to 
make his home throughout life. He aided 
in the early development and upbuilding of 
the count}-, and successfully engaged in 
farming until two years prior to his death, 
when he lived retired from acti\e lalior, en- 
joying a well-earned rest. 

In 1847 -Mr. McCarrel married ^liss 
Xancy Dyer, whci was born i.i Illinois, Sep- ' 
tember 29, 1826, and died January 18, 1893. 
Her parents were \\illiam and ^Margaret 
(Slatten) Dyer, the former of Irish and the 
latter of German descent. Her father came 
to this state from Kentucky, and her mother 
from l>nnessee. Of the ten children who 
were born to Mr. and ]Mrs. McCarrel, one, 
Tohn \\'., died in infancy. The others are 
]\Iinerva; George; }*Iary Margaret, de- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



329 



ceased ; Elizabeth : Daniel ; Hanan C. : Sarah 
A.; Henry I. and Ida I\Iay. The daughters, 
Misses Sarah A. and Ida ]N[ay. reside in 
a cozy little home in Atlanta, where they 
are surrounded liy a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. They tenderly cherish 
the memory of their beloved parents and 
take great pride in preserving all matters 
pertaining to them. 

The family hold membership in the 
Christian church and Mr. McCarrel always 
took an active interest in its work. He was 
looked upon as one of the most upright and 
conscientious men of his comnnuiity and 
at his death his many friends realized that 
the county had lost a \'alued citizen. By 
his ballot he supported the men and meas- 
ures of the Republican party. Init he ne\-er 
cared for political honors. He served many 
}-ears as school director in his district, and 
always gave b.'s support to ail enterprises 
calculated to advance the educational, moral 
or social interests of his commnnitv. 



JEREMIAH PARKER. 

Jeremiah Parker, familiarlv known as 
Jerry by his man}- friends throughout Lo- 
gan county, is the senior member of the 
firm of Parker & Rudolph, painters and 
decorators of Lincoln. He was born in 
^\'arren county. Ohio, on tiie 24th of March. 
1855, and was only two years old when he 
came to Lincoln with his parents, Samuel 
and Elizabeth ( McMullen) Parker, who 
were nati\-es of Tennessee and Maryland, 
respectively. During his active business ca- 
reer the father followed blacksmithing. but 
spent his last vears in retirement from labor. 
He made his home with our subject after 
the latter's marriage, and died in Linc(jln 



in 1895, at the advanced age of nearly 
eighty-eight years. He long survived his 
wife, who died in 1858. She was twice 
married, her first husband being a Mr. Car- 
lock, by whom she had one daughter, now 
living, Elizabeth, wife of William G. Stark- 
ey, of Lincoln, who is one of the oldest set- 
tlers of the city. Eight children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Parker, two of whom died in 
intanc}-. while Samuel died at Helena, Ar- 
kansas, during his ser\-ice in the Union ar- 
my ; and Thomas B., who \vas also a soldier 
of the Civil war, died in Lincoln, Illinois. 
Those of the familv still living are George 
\\'., who served his country as a member of 
C<jmpany B, Second Illinois Cavalry, and is 
now a resident of Lincoln; Mary, wife of 
William Ragland. (_)f Hutchinson, Kansas; 
Celia, widow of J. H. Corwine, of Lincoln ; 
and Jeremiah, the subject of this sketch. 

Leaving, school at the age of eleven 
years, Jerry Parker began work on a farm 
as a laborer and was thus employed for fi\-e 
years. In 1871 he returned to Lincoln, 
where he learned the trade of carriage pamt- 
ing with Frank Gerard, now deceased, and 
worked for him for eighteen years having 
charge of the business for several years. 
When the son succeeded to the business, Mr. 
Parker remained with him as manager for 
some time. He was next with J. B. Her- 
man. In i8g8 he opened a sho]) of his own, 
and admitted to partnership Mr. Rudolph 
in the spring of igoi, the firm becoming 
Parker & Rudolph. They do all kinds of car- 
riage painting, as well as house painting, 
decorating and paper hanging, and hai'e 
built up a good trade, which is constantly 
increasing, as the superiority of their work 
becomes known. 

Mr. Parker was married in Lincoln in 
1882, to Miss Annie L. Stoltz, who was 
born in Niagara county, Xew "^'ork, in Jan- 



330 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



uarv, 1857. Ahout 1876 her parents came 
with their family to Logan county, IHi- 
nois, and here remained on a farm until 
1889, when they removed to IMontana, 
where they now live. Mr. and Mrs. Parker 
have two children: Leona and Minnie 
Elizabeth. 

The Republican party has always found 
in Mr. Parker a stanch supporter of its 
principles, and of late }'ears he has taken 
quite an active part in politics. In 1896 he 
was elected assessor of East Lincoln town- 
ship, and so acceptably did he fill that office 
that he has been constantly re-elected, and is 
the present incumbent. He has given good 
satisfaction in all his decisions. Socially he 
is an honored member of Lincohi Lodge, No. 
204, I. O. O. F., in which he has passed 
through the chairs ; and also belongs to Keo- 
kuk Tribe, I. O. R. M., and Richard J. Og- 
lesby Camp, Xo. 7363, M. W. A., and the 
Modern American Fraternal Order. His 
wife is a member of the German Lutheran 
church, but Mr. Parker was reared in the 
Methodist church. Jovial in disposition, he 
makes many friends, and is held in high re- 
gard by all who know him. 



WILLIAM HUNGERFORD. 

The subject of this sketch is one of the 
leading contractors and builders of Lincoln, 
and is also successfully engaged in the man- 
ufacture of sash, doors and blinds, in fact, 
all kinds of builders' and mill supplies. He 
was born in Bridgewater, Connecticut, May 
31, 1833, and is a worthy representative of 
an old Xcw England f;imily, his parents be- 
ing William and Adeline (Keeler) Hunger- 
ford. The father, who was a native of Mas- 
sachusetts and a l)ricklayer by trade, died 



about 1890, and the mother passed away 
some years pre\'ious. 

Mr. Hungerfnrd was rearetl at his l)irtli- 
place and there accjuired a good common 
school education, which was completed by 
a course in the high school at that place. 
(3n laying aside his te.\t books he entered 
upon his business career. He went to 
Poughkeepsie, N^ew York, where he ser\ed 
an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. 
Having mastered his chosen vocation, he 
came west in 1858 and located in Lincoln, 
where he worked as a journeyman carpenter 
for a time. In 1868 he formed a partner- 
ship with E. L. Beach and built the planing 
mill at Lincoln, which was destroyed by fire 
in May, 1871, but with characteristic energy 
thev at once rebuilt, and within se\enty da}"s 
the machinery was in running order and 
evervthing ready for business. Since ]SIr. 
Beach retired from the firm in 1873 Mr. 
Hungerford has been alone in business, and 
now has a well equipped plant, it being sup- 
])lied with the latest improved machinery. 
By gi\ing close attention tc) his business he 
has built up a large trade as a manufacturer 
of sash, doors, blinds and building material 
of all kinds, and he has also extensively en- 
gaged in contracting and building, ha\ing 
erected many dwellings and business houses 
in Lincoln and surrounding country. The 
excellence of his work has always Ijeen a 
cou\'incing test of his own personal wiirth. 

In 1855 Mr. Hungerford married Aliss 
Sarah 'M. Beach, of Poughkeepsie, Xew 
to them were born three children, namely: 
York, a daughter of Phineas H. Beach, and 
.Adeline, now the wife of F. E. Bell, of 
Matoon, Illinois; Phineas B., of Lincoln; 
i\Iartha, wife of Charles A. Warfield, who 
has been a. mail carrier of Lincoln since free 
delivery was established. The parents hold 
membership in the First Presbyterian church 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



331 



of Lincoln, of which Mr. Hungerford is 
■one of the elders, and are highly respected 
and esteemed by all who know them. Their 
home is a neat and substantial frame resi- 
dence of the latest architectural design, and 
is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. 
Mr. Hungerft)rd is a stanch Republican and 
served for several years on the city coun- 
cil, being elected on the temperance ticket, 
and he t<iok an active part in the noted tem- 
perance agitation. During his term of office 
the water works were put in. 



FRANCIS MARIOX TUTTLE. 

Francis jNI. Tuttle, deceased, was for 
many years one of the most enterprising and 
public-spirited men in Logan county, and 
to him the people owe a debt of gratitude, 
^vhich, in all probability, tliey will never 
meet. He was born in Greene county, Ohio, 
October 10, 1832, and was a son of James 
and Harriet (Hatch) Tuttle, in whose fam- 
ily were four sons and two daughters. The 
father was born in Athens, Ohio, in 1806, 
and was there reared to manhood. He fol- 
lowed the manufacture of brick and was also 
a large distiller in Oiiio, but he later took 
up farming, and by working early and late, 
lie was soon enabled to lay aside all cares 
and spend the evening of his life in ease 
and retirement. He was a man who took 
considerable interest in his country, especial- 
ly in politics and was always ready to lenrl 
a helping hand tii the needy. On .\])ril 14. 
1899, he was finally called to his last rest, 
having reached the e.xtreme old age of nine- 
ty-three years. 

Our subject spent his boyhood days on 
the farm and there received a good country 
schooling, and learning the ins and outs of 



farming, which occupation he later followed. 
In 1S55 1''^ engaged in the milling business 
in Logan county and continued in that ca- 
pacit}- successfully until the year of 1861. 
He was rudely awakened from his quiet 
dreams of the future by the dark cloud of 
war, which overshadowed our lieloyed coun- 
try, and in the fall of the same year, his 
patriotism being aroused, Mr. Tuttle enlist- 
ed and was soon made first lieutenant of 
Company E, One Hundred and Sixth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry. He was engaged 
in several skirmishes and battles, but he was 
a brave, fearless officer, and was never in- 
jured. He ser\ed his country faithfully for 
two years, but through the hands of his 
enemies he was pc)isoned while on his way to 
to assist in the ca])ture of Vicksburg, Mis- 
sissippi, and on July 2g, 1863, he expired at 
Snyder Bluff, a distance of cix miles from 
Vicksburg. This being a time of war, the 
facts will never become known, Init the 
cruelty inflicted upon him at the hands of 
the \'illian macL an irreparable loss to the 
entire company. 

On January 24, 1856, Mr. Tuttle was 
united in marriage with Miss Anna A. 
Stephens, of Ohio, a daughter of Andrew 
and Anna ( Smith ) Stephens, the father a 
nati\'e of Virginia and the mother of Penn- 
sylvania. To Air. and Mrs. Tuttle were 
born four children, two of whom are still 
living: Ivy L. and .\lice D. The deceased 
were Lodema and Josephine. 

On June 10, 1869, Mrs. Tuttle was mar- 
ried to Charles H. Pierce, who is a farmer 
of .Vtlanta. Illinois. Both Mr. and ]\lrs. 
Pierce are members of the Baptist church 
and have the respect of the community in 
general. 

Socially our subject was a IMason, also 
a memjjer of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and politically he was a stalwart 



332 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Repuljlican. His lite recnrcl was mie well 
worthy of emulation and contained many 
valuable lessons of incentive. Upright and 
honorable in all the relations of life he mer- 
ited and receixed the respect and confidence 
of all with whom he came in contact. 



CAPTAIX DAVID V.\XIIISE. 

With onlv (irdinar\- ad\antages in vouth 
and with no financial aid rendered him as he 
started out upon his business career Captain 
David Vanhise has steadily advanced in 
business circles until he mnv occupies a 
])riiminent, creditable and enviable position 
in the financial world of Logan ctiunty, lac- 
ing president of the First National Bank of 
Mt. Pulaski. When we examine into the 
secret of his success it will l>e found that 
it has been gained along the lines of old and 
well tried business principles. Industrv, en- 
ergy, strong purpose and unquestioned hon- 
esty have formed the foundation of his pros- 
perit}- and made for him a record which is 
in e\er}- way worth v of enuilation. 

The Captain is a native of Ohio, his 
birth having occurred in Fairfield county, 
on the 22d of August. 1822, his parents 
being James and Xancy J. ( W'instead ) 
Vanhise. His paternal grandparents were 
Abraham and Christine ( Stenaliaugh ) Van- 
hise, the former a native of \'irginia. The 
maternal grandfather, Griffin W'instead. was 
also a native of Virginia, while his wife, 
Margaret W'instead, came from Germany to 
America when fourteen vears of age. The 
parents of our subject were both natives of 
the Old Dominion, whence they removed to 
Fairfield county. Ohici, in 18 10. The father 
served his country as a soldier in the war 
of 1812. In October. i8^6. he remo\ed 



with his wife to Logan cnuntx". Illinois, 
where they spent their remaining dax's, their 
home being in Mount Pulaski at the time 
they were called to their final rest, the father 
in i8f)(). the mnther in 1858. 

In the public schools of his native coun- 
ty Captain- \'anhise pursued his education, 
spending the winter months mastering the 
branches of English learning in such insti- 
tutions, while in the summer he assisted in 
the work of the home farm. He assisted in 
the cultixation of the fields on the old 
homestead until twenty-one years of age and 
then started out in life on his own account. 
He remained in Fairfield cnuntv, Ohio, until 

1856, when he started with his famil_\- for 
Illinois, and on the 9th of October took up 
his abode in Logan countv, and in March, 

1857, he located in Mount Pulaski, where 
he engaged in the mercantile business, in 
i8f)2 he responded to the country's call fnr 
volunteers to aid in crushing out the rebel- 
lion, becoming a member of Comi^any 1>. 
OneHundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry, of 
which he was commissioned captain, while 
Ciiloncl l\. I) .Latham commanded the regi- 
ment. The_\' i)roceeded to Jackson, Tenes- 
see, and jjarticipated in the operation of the 
army during the whole siege of \'icksburg, 
the capitulation giving an open waterway 
to the gulf. With his company Captain 
A'anhise afterward took part in the engage- 
ments at Helena, Little Rock and Pine 
BlutY, Arkansas, and was e\er found at his 
post of duty, faithfully defending the 
Union cause until July, 1865, when he was 
honorably discharged with the rank of 
major. ; 

Returning to Logan county ^lajor Van- 
hise engaged in merchandising at Mount 
Pulaski, for four years having' retained his 
interest in the business while in the arm}', 
and then turned his attentimi to the nianu- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



333 



facture of drain tile, establi.shing a factory 
in which he made tile, from three tcT tweh-e 
inches in diameter. For fifteen years he was 
in that line of business and met with excel- 
lent sticcess in his undertakings, nwing to the 
fine product which he turned out and his 
relialjility in all trade transactions. He con- 
ducted one of the largest factories in this 
])art of the state. Eight days after .selling 
that business he assisted in the organization 
of the First Xatinnal Bank, which was es- 
talilished with a capital stock of trfty thou- 
sand dollars. John Lincoln became presi- 
dent and Captain X'anhise, vice-president, 
and in that capacity uur subject CdUtinucd tn 
ser\e imtil a vacancy occurred in the presi- 
dency, when he was chosen to that positimi. 
in which he has now ser\ed for six years. 
He has been largely instrumental in placing 
the bank upon a good paying basis and mak- 
ing it one of the most reliable financial con- 
cerns in this part of the state. He is a 
sagacious, far-sighted liusiness man. deter- 
mined and resolute in carrying out his well 
formulated plans, and liis energy and indus- 
try lia\e Ijeen the salient features in his suc- 
cessful Inisiness career. 

in October, 1840. Captain Vanhise was 
united in marriage to ]\Iiss Catherine ]\[ar- 
tin. of Pickaway county, Ohic), a daughter 
of Adam and Catherine ( Pontius) ^ilartin, 
also of Pickaway count\'. They have a very 
l)leasant and attracti\e iK.mie in Blount 
Pulaski, and in addition the Captain owns 
other city property and one hundred and six, 
ty acres of valuable land in Logan county, 
which he rents. He is a memlier of Samuel 
\\'alker Po.st, Xo. 205. G. A. R,, of which 
he has served as commander for the past five 
years. In his political views lie is a stal- 
wart Republican and though he has never 
sought or desired public office he has al- 
\vays faithfully performed his duties of cit- 



izenship and as e\^ery true American should 
do, keeps well informed on the questions 
and issues of the day. The cause of etlu- 
cation tinds in him a warm friend and he 
tlid effective service for th'e schools while 
acting as a member and president of the 
school board. Since the age of sixteen he 
has been a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, has long served as one of its 
officers, for four years was assistant su])er- 
intendent of the Sunday-school and for thir- 
ty-seven years has been superintendent. His 
has been an active and useful career, his 
acti\ity in many lines pro\ung of benefit to 
his fellow men. while in th(; business world 
he has achieved prosperity, his life history 
])ro\-ing what it is possilile to accomplish if 
one has the courage to tlare and to do. X'o 
history of this community would be com- 
plete without the record oi Captain Vanhise. 
the loyal soldier, faithful citizen and reliable 
business man. 



J. WEBSTER SUMXER. 

J. Webster Sumner, another early set* 
ilcr of Logan county, has been engaged in 
farming here since 1856. He is a native of 
Darke county. Ohio, born on January 12, 
1840, and is a son of Oran L. and Fdizabeth 
( Carnahan ) Sumner, nati\'es of Vermont 
and Scioto county, Ohio, respectively. The 
father moved to Ohio when he was, cjuite 
ycmng and he and his wife were married in 
Darke county, where he engaged in farming 
until bis death in 1852. The mother had a 
brother and two sisters residing in Logan 
County. Illinois, and after the death of her 
husband she came here with her family and 
settled in Or\il township, on the present 
farm of our subject, where she reared her 
children and engaged in farming. AI)out 



334 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1884 she removed to the village of Emden 
and there resided until her death, in 1893. 

The parents of our suljject liad ten chil- 
dren, live now living', namely: ^Margaret, 
who resitles in the village of Emden : Will- 
iam T.. who married Sarah Bruner and re- 
sides in Eminence township: J- ^^ ■. nur sul)- 
ject ; I'^"ances, wife of O. A. .Shirle\", of Ford 
county, Illinois: Elizalieth A., Avife of T. J. 
Miller, of Or\-il township : John C. Berthena 
and Ella, all three deceased; and two others 
who died in infancy. 

In 1870 our suhject was married tn 
Zara A. Patterson, a nati\-e of the southern 
part of Illinois, horn in 1X5J, and a (laugh- 
ter of Lewis and Jane (Cooper) Patterson. 
natives of Ohio and New Jersey, respecti\e- 
ly. Mr. Patterson was a farmer in Ohio, 
but came to Logan count\', Illinois, at an 
early day, and died in Lincoln in 1864. Our 
subject and wife are the jiarents of four 
chijclren, namelv: Cora, wife of Ezra 1). 
Reardon, of Oklahoma City: William T.. 
an attornev of East St. Louis. Illinois: 
Frank W.. a minister in the Christian 
church, who is a student of the College of 
the Bible in Kentucky: and Bertha, who died 
at the age of three years. 

Mr. Sumner was the onh- oue of his 
parents' children who remained at lunue ami 
he helped his mother on the farm and finally 
became the owner of it. Here he has spent 
his life in farming, with the exception of a 
period de\-oted to the defense of his countr}-. 
On .\ugust 12, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
Infantrx'. luider Colonel Latham and Cap- 
tain Beesley. His company was in the siege 
of Vicksburg and also participated in a num- 
ber of small engagements, but he was ne\er 
injured in anv wav and received his hon- 
orable discharge at Springfield on August 9. 
186s. 



He then returned to the old homestead 
in (_)rvil township, this county, where he 
is the owner of one hundred and twentv 
acres of fine farming land on section 10. On 
this excellent property he carries on general 
farming and stock raising-. His land is well 
cultivated and the buildings are substantial 
and in good repair, while his residence is a 
\'er\' good one. 

Politicalh- ]\lr. Sumner is a stanch Re- 
publican and he has Ijeen honored by elec- 
tion to se\eral of the minor offices of the 
township, although his time is so occupied 
that he has not sought official positions. 
Both he and his most excellent wife are 
earnest memliers of the Bethel Christian 
church, which is located one mile east of 
his farm. Xot onl\- has he taken an active 
])art in church work and given liberally of 
his means, imt he and his wife reared one 
(if their children to take up the work of the" 
Master. ;\lr. Sunnier is well and fa\-orahly 
known in the comnuuiity in which he resides 
and is often called by his frieufls "\\'el)"' 
.Sunnier. 



COLONEL WILFORD D. WVATT. 

Wilford D. \\'_\-att, an old and ])romi- 
nent attorney of Lincoln, is a native of Illi- 
nois, born on a farm in ^lorgan county, 
.Se])teniher i. i8ji, and is a worth)' repre- 
sentati\e of one of the honored pioneer fam- 
ilies of this state. His paternal great-grand- 
father came to this country from the north 
of Ireland, and settled in Virginia, where 
the grandfather, John Wyatt, was born. The 
latter wedded ^lary Trimble, who was born 
in Pennsylvania, of Dutch ancestry, and in 
1816 he removed to Batesville, .Arkansas, 
where he made his home until his death. 
William Wyatt, our subject's father was 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



337 



born near Harper's Ferry, in Loudoun coun- 
ty, Virginia, in 1790, and in early life re- 
moved witli iiis father tn Tennessee, locating 
near General Jackson's plantation. Later 
he removed to Flynn's Ferry. Kentucky, on 
the Ohio river, and in 18 14 came to Illinois, 
being at that time a pilot on the ^Mississippi 
river running as far as Xew Orleans. In 
181 6 he was married in Madison county, this 
state, to ]\Iiss Rachel Kitchens, who was 
born at Kaskaskia. of French and Spanish 
parentage. After residing in Madison coun- 
ty four years, he removed to Morgan county, 
in 1820. and made his home three and one- 
half miles south of Jacksonville for some 
time, when he removed three and one-half 
miles northeast of Jacksonville, where he 
Ixmght a farm, on which he li\'ed until his 
•death in April. 1836. He was a soldier of 
the war of 1812. His wife died in 1830. 
Of the nine children born to them se\'en 
lived to be grown, namely : Elizabeth ; 
John : ^^'ilford D., our subject: Xancy Ann; 
Mary, and Savilla. widow of the late Col- 
onel Robert B. Latham. On)}- our suljject 
and his youngest sister are now li\ing. 

Wilford D. W'yatt grew to manhood on 
the home farm. an#l supplemented his early 
education, acquired in the common schools, 
by a year's attendance at the Illinois College 
in Jacksonville. In the spring of 1844 he 
■went to St. Louis. ^lissouri. and from there 
to Phillips county, Arkansas, where he 
taught school and commenced the study of 
law with Judge Josiah B. ^IcKeil. He was 
admitted to the bar in that state in 1846, and 
began practice at Delta. Mississiiii)i. where 
he served as clerk of the courts of his county. 
During the Mexican war he enlisted in June. 
1846. in Company B. First Mississippi Regi- 
ment of Riflemen, commanded by Colonel 
Jefferson Davis, and he ])articipated in the 
battles of Monterev and Buena Vista. After 



his discharge he returnetl to Mississippi, and 
shortly afterward went to Vicksburg, where 
he re-enlisted in Captain Elisha Crowson's 
companv of riflemen, belonging to the First 
Battalion, under command of Colonel J. Pat- 
ton Anderson, and then went to Tampico, 
Mexico, where he remained until the close of 
the war. He was promoted to second lieu- 
tenant in Captain Llovd's independent cav- 
alr)- comi)an_\'. which, liy order of the war 
department, was attached to the Third 
United States Flying Artillery, commanded 
by Colonel Gates. He was mustered out at 
\'icksburg. July 3. 1S48. was in bad health 
until 1849. when he went to Pine Bluff, Ar- 
kansas, where he published a newspaper and 
practiced law until 1853. when he returned 
to Carrollton. Illinois, and practiced law and 
edited a nev.spaper until December. 1856, 
when he came to Lincoln as attorney for 
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, which jxisi- 
tion he held until entering the arm\-. Dur- 
ing the session of the legislature, in 1857, he 
was assistant secretary of the senate, per- 
forming the duties of the secretar)-. 

In 1861, at the breaking out of the Civil 
war. ^Ir. W'yatt raised Company E, of the 
Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was 
rommissioned the first lieutenant-colonel of 
said regiment. He assisted in organizing 
his regiment, and also in recruiting members 
for the One Hundred and Sixth and other 
regiments throughout the war. Since then 
he has engaged in the ])ractice of law at 
Lincoln. 

Colonel ^\'yatt has been twice married. 
In September, 1844, at Carrollton. Greene 
count)-. Illinois, he wedded I\Iiss Anna Jo- 
sephine Blackshaw. a niece of Governor 
Thomas Carlin. and to then: were born four 
children: Lammie E.. wife of John Ed- 
monds, a resident of Lincoln : William, who 
died in childhcKjd; Anna B., deceased; and 



338 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



]\Iary, wife of John C. Matliews, of tlie law- 
firm of Shope, Mathews & Miller, of Chica- 
go. The mother of these children died Jan- 
uar_\' i8, 1893, and mi the jjnd of Novem- 
ber. 1899, Colonel Wyatt married Miss Liz- 
zie F. Morris, a native of Pennsxh'ania. 

In politics Colonel W \'att is a stanch 
Democrat. He served as president of the 
Illinois Christian Temperance Union from 
1879 until 1 88 1, and is now the chief coun- 
sellor of the hranch council of the Ivoval 
Templars of Ten.iperance. at Lincoln. Illi- 
nois. Colonel Wyatt is well and favurably 
known by the people of central Illinois and 
has now the distinction of beinq' the oldest 
member of the Logan count}- bar now in act- 
i\e practice. 



REV. FREDERICK W. SCHNAT- 
HORST. 

Re\-. Frederick \^'. Schnatliorst, pastor 
of .St. J<ihn"s Evangelical church of Lincoln, 
is a native of Wisconsin, his l)irth ha\-ing 
occurred in Sheboygan. .Vpril 7, iSfio. His 
parents. C. F. and Caroline (Huck) Schnat- 
horst, were natives of Prussia, Germany, 
and emigrated to .\merica in 1857. Land- 
ing in New York Cit\-, the}' ])roceeded at 
once to Sheboygan, \\'isconsin, and in that 
state the father followed farming for sev- 
eral \-ears. He came to Lincoln, Illinois, a 
short time before his death, and diefl here 
in December, 1900. His home at that time 
was in Newton, Iowa, where his widow still 
resides. 

After attending the public schools for 
some years Mr. Schnatliorst. of this review, 
took a four years" course at Elmhurst Col- 
lege, in Elmhurst, Du Page county, Illinois, 
and was graduated at that institution in 



June, T883. He then entered the Eden 
idieological .Seminary, at .St. Louis. Mis- 
souri, and on his graduation, in June, 1886, 
was ordained a minister of the Evangelical 
church by Professors Haberle, Becker and 
Kunzman, all of St. Louis. He then took 
charge of St. Peter"s church at Grant Park, 
Illinois, where he remained four years. He 
was next called to Emanuel church, near 
Elgin, and had charge of that congregation 
for se\-en x'ears. In May, 1897, he assumed 
the pastorate of St. John's church, of Lin- 
ci;ln, and luidcr his ministry the congrega- 
tion has increaseil to two hundred families. 
The cluu-ch here is a subsl.'intial brick edi- 
fice, ha\ing a seating capacit}' of \'\vv hun- 
dred. 

In i8(;4 Mr. Schnathorst founded the 
Orphans' Home at Bensonville. 1 )u Page 
cijuntv. and hel]3ed carry the work on ti> 
completion at a cost of twenty-three thou- 
sand dollars. .\t lirst he took the responsi- 
bility of raising the money. 1)ul after 
demonstrating the feasibility of the project, 
the assistance of all of the churches of his 
denomination in northern Illinois was re- 
ceived. In this institution sevent_\'-live chil- 
dren are now cared for, besides seventeen 
old ]jeople. who are given church, home and 
school prixileges. 

,\s founder of the Deaconess Phispital 
in Lincoln, ]\ir. Schnatliorst has perhaps 
reared the most \-isible and lasting monu- 
ment to his name. Its inception was 
brought about in a peculiar manner. In the 
autumn of 1898 nianv families of this city 
were stricken with t\phoid fever, so many, 
in fact, that hel]) or nurses could not be ob- 
tained in this locality. (>oing to St. Louis, 
Mr. Schnathorst securefl a number of dea- 
conesses to come ruid care for his sick. .So 
favorable an impression did they make that 
the question was raisecl. \\'h_\- cannot we 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



339 



Iiave ail order (jf tlie kind liere? Our sulj- 
ject presented tliis tliought to his congre- 
gation and the ])lan was favorably received. 
He also had men more con\-ersant with the 
features and cost of such an enterprise to 
come to Lincoln and address his congrega- 
tion. As a result a society was eventually 
formed, a charter for a hospital was ob- 
tained at Springfield, and Mr. Schnathorst 
commenced raising funds for the erection of 
the necessary building. After deciding on 
the plans it was estimated that the cost 
would be about twenty-two thousand dol- 
lars, wiiich money he succeeded in raising, 
but b\- the time the structure was completed 
;ind furnished ready for use it cost about 
thirty-five tlKJUsand dollars, which amount 
has to be partly raised by him. 'This hos- 
pital is open to all: is well e(|uippcd for all 
surgical and medical cases, and is in charge 
of a competent sister superior, aided by a 
good cor])s of deaconesses and the house 
committee. It contains all that can be de- 
sired for the care of the sick in the most 
modern and ajiproved' manner, and is one 
of the best hos])itals in any city the size of 
Lincoln throughout the United States. For 
Air. Schnathorst to have accomplished .such 
an undertaking as this may well be consid- 
ered a good life work. 

( )n the 30th of June. 1886. he was united 
in marriage with Miss Lottie Bergman, of 
Xewton. Iowa, a daughter of William and 
Louisa (Flamkamp) Bergman, \\ho were 
both natives of Prussia, Germany. By this 
union have been born one son and five 
flaughters, namely: Louise, Selma, Lena, 
Fred II., Lottie and Corinne. 

]\Ir. Schnathorst is reverefl and loved by 
his own congregation, and has also won the 
honor and esteem of all fathers who ha\x 
seen his de\-otion to his noble calling. 
Broad in his \-iews and sympathies, a friend 



of the poor and oppressed, ever ready with 
helpful counsel for the ])erplexed or sorrow- 
ful, he has a wifle field for labor, and well 
does he discharge its arduous and sacred 
duties. 



JAMES EXTiRETT JEW'ETT. 

.\mong the most prrjiiiinent and influ- 
ential citizens of Lincoln is numbered 
James E\'erett Jewett, the present grand 
chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of the 
]")omain of IlHnois. A native of the old 
I'ine Tree state, he was born in Belfast, 
Maine. January 13, 1844. and is a son of 
I'arker and Mary (Cochran) Jewett. the 
former born in Vermont, the latter in East 
Boston. Massachusetts, of Irish parentage. 
By trade the father was a cooper, Init Ills 
later years were dex'oted to farming. He 
was a stevedore on sliii)s in early life, and 
was well known in tlie east. On coming 
west, in 1856, he located in Livingston coun- 
ty, Illinois, where he made his home until 
called to his final rest, at the age of eighty- 
nine years. Having met with success in 
life and becoming quite well-to-do, he was 
able to s])end his last days in ease and re- 
tirement from active labor. He was a 
large, rolnist man and enjoyed excellent 
health. His wife died in Illinois, at the age 
of seventy-six. In their family were seven 
children, five sons and two daughters, of 
whom our suJjject is fourth in order of birth. 
He had two brothers who were in the Civil 
war, John P. ha\ing served as commissary 
sergeant of the Thirty-seventh Fremont 
Rifles; and Ralph P., as brigade blacksmith 
in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infanlrw The latter was in 
the Pinkerton detective service eleven years, 
and died at Mitchell, South Dakota, about 



340 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1890. Our subject has one sister living, 
Emily A., wife of George T. Faucett, of 
Panora, Iowa. 

Air. Jewett liegan his education in the 
public schools of Maine, and after the re- 
movc-^l of the family to Illinois attended 
Eureka College, at Eureka, Woodford 
county. When an undergraduate he left 
that instituti(jn and commenced teaching, 
being principal of a high school in McLean 
county nine years. During the latter part 
of that time he read law with J. H. Rowell 
and J- M. Hamilton, and was admitted to 
the bar January 8, 1878. He l>egan prac- 
tice at Chenoa, Illinois, and soon became in- 
teresteil in politics. In 1877 he was first 
assistant clerk in the house of representa- 
tives, and for si.\ years was connected with 
the L'nited States revenue serx'ice, with 
headquarters at Pekin. 

Although he was not educated for the 
ministry. Mr. Jewett took up Bible study, 
and for some years engaged in preaching. 
From 1885 until 1888 he had charge of 
evangelist work in McLean county as county 
evangelist, and in 1888 and i88g was pas- 
tor of the Christian church at Fanner City : 
the following two years at Washington ; in 
1892 and 1893 at Lincoln: and then three 
years at Shelby ville. In January, 1897, lie 
returned to Lincoln and has since made this 
place his home. For the past three years he 
has filled the pulpits of the Christian 
churches at Bethel and ^Midland City as 
preacher. 

Mr. Jewett was numbered among the 
boys in blue during the dark days of the Re- 
bellion, enlisting August 7, 1862, at Pontiac 
as a private, in Company G, One Hundred 
and Twenty-ninth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry. He ttxik part in the battle of 
Resaca, Georgia, and the Atlanta campaign, 
including the last engagement at Peach Tree 



I 



Creek. He then followed Sherman on the 
march to the sea and up through the Caro- 
linas to Cioldsboro. At the close of the war 
l;e participated in the grand re\iew at 
Washington, D. C, and was mustered out 
June 8, 1865, and discharged on the 20th 
of the same month at Chicago. He saw 
some hard service under General Buell in 
Kentucky, fhe brigade commander at that , 
time being Colonel Chapin, of the Twenty- ) 
third Michigan, and later Colonel Benjamin > 
Harrison. 

In Morton, Tazewdl criunt\", Illinois, 
]\Ir. Jewett was married, in 1869, to Miss 
Sarah E. Graves, who was born in ]Mason I 
county, Kentucky, in i84(), and was only 
three years old when she came to Illinois, 
where she was reared and educated. Her 
father. Charles \\'. Cira\'es, died in Lincoln, 
Nebraska. Of the three children born to 
]\Ir. and Mrs. Jewett one died in early child- 
hood. Oscar Allen was educated at Eureka 
College, and for a time engaged in teaching- 
school, Init he soon became interested in 
newspaper work, and is now editor and pro- 
prietor of the Cowden Reflector at Cowden. 
Illinois. Everett P. is a railroad fireman on 
the Toledo, St. Louis & \\'estern Railroad, 
and resides in Charleston, Illinois. Both 
sons are married, and E\erett P. has one 
child. 

In 1888 ]\Ir. Jewett joined the Knights 
of Pythias fraternity, and is now a member 
of Glendower Lodge, No. 45, of Lincoln, 
in which he lias filled all the offices. He is 
to-day one of the most prominent members 
of the order in Illinois, and in October, 
1900, was elected grand chancellor, which 
responsible position he is now filling with 
distinction, having charge of si.x hundred 
and nine lodges in the state. On the 7th of 
August, 1865, he was made a ]\Iason, and 
is to-da\- a member of the blue lodge, chap- 



I 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



341 



ter and council, wliile he is serving' as grand 
chaplain of the council of the state. He is 
also a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, and has been brigadier general of 
the Union Veteran Union, or Order of Bat- 
tlemen, since 1900. He is a prominent 
member of all of these orders and takes an 
acti\e part in their work. For several years 
Mr. Jewett was president of the state Sun- 
day-school l)oard of the Christian church, 
and still de\iites considerable time to church 
work. On his return to Lincoln, in 1897, 
he opened an office for the practice of law in 
this cit}-, and is meeting with good success 
in his profession. He is one of the leading 
Re])ublicans of the city and exerts consid- 
erable influence in its councils. For twentv- 
fijur years he has followed the fi.irtunes of 
John R. Tanner, and has ever made a care- 
ful study of political matters. As a citizen 
he ever stands ready to discharge any dut\- 
devolving uimn him, and he justly merits 
the esteem in which he is universallv heltl. 



TOHX ZETER. 



Jiihn Zeter, ex-count\- sur\-e\-or and a 
jirominent resident of East Liiicnln town- 
sliip, is m iw successfully engaged in dair\- 
and fruit farming on section 33. He is a 
nati\-e of Ohio, liorn in Hamilton count\'. 
January 17. 1S5S, and is a son of Adam and 
Margaret ( Boesin ) Zeter. who are of Ger- 
man l)irth and are now over seventy x'ears 
of age. The father has always l:)een an act- 
ive man and has made farming his life work. 
He and his wife are still li\-ing in Hamilton 
CDunty. ()hiii. 'J'l) them were born nine 
children, se\'en sons and two daughters, of 
M'hom five sons and one daughter are now 
living, their homes being either in Indiana 



or Ohio, with the exception of our subject, 
who is the second m order of birth in this 
family and the oldest now living. 

During his boyhood Jnhn Zeter attended 
the common schools of his native state and 
remained at home until he attained his ma- 
jorit}-. \vlien be commenced work as a farm 
hand. In 1884 and 1885 he took an elective 
course at the Northern Indiana Normal 
School at Valparaiso, Indiana, and while 
there made a special study of surveying. He 
then came to Logan county, Illinois, where 
he engaged in teaching school for four 
years. 

In 1888 ;Mr. Zeter was married in this 
county to Miss Sarah J. Moyer, who was 
born here in 1862, and is a daughter of 
Michael and Amanda J. Moyer. The father 
is deceased, but the mother is still lixing 
and makes her home with a daughter in 
Champaign county, Illinois. She has three 
daughters and one son. but Mrs. Zeter is the 
only one residing in this county. Air. 
Moyer, who was a shoemaker and farmer by 
occupation, died at the home of our subject. 
After securing a good education in the 
schools of Logan county, Mrs. Zeter taught 
school here for a time. Our subject and his 
wife have four children, namelv : Harrv 
M., Carl, George, all attending school; and 
rherim. 

The _\ear of his marriage [Mr. Zeter pur- 
chased his present farn: on section t,;^, East 
Lincoln township, consisting of eighty-five 
acres, and has since engaged in dair}- farm- 
ing and fruit growing, though he has recent- 
ly gi\-en some attention to the sugar beet 
industry. As a Republican he has always 
taken quite an acti\e and influential part 
in local politics, and in i8c)6 was elected 
county sur\-eyor, which office he creditably 
filled for four years. He has held several 
other minor positions in his township, but 



342 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has never been a politician in tl'»e sense of 
office seeking. Through his own unaided ef- 
forts ]\Ir. Zeter acquired a good practical 
educaticjn, and is to-day a well-informed 
man, who takes a commendable interest in 
public affairs, and is alwa^'s willing to aid 
any enterprise calculated to prove of public 
benefit. 



FREDERICK HECKARD. 

Frederick Heckard, deceased, who re- 
sided in Atlanta township, was for many 
years a conspicuous figure in Logan county. 
He was the object of respect by young and 
old, and was greeted with aft'ection and es- 
teem by one and all. In his declining days 
he enjoyed the reward of a well ordered life 
and one in which he had exerted himself to 
do good to those around him. He was a 
native of Pennsylvania, born July 21, 1835, 
and was a son of John H. Heckard, also a 
native of the same state. John Heckard 
spent his entire life in Pennsxhania, where 
his death occurred. From his boyhood days 
he followed the life of a farmer and was 
always known to be successful in all his un- 
dertakings. 

'Sir. Heckard, of this review, was reared 
on the farm of his father and received a 
good country school education. He was 
one of a family of sixteen children, but upon 
the death of his father and immediately after 
the close of the war, they found it necessary 
lor each tn make a new start in the world, 
and by taking the advice of Horace Greeley, 
our subject came west and located in .Atlanta 
township, Logan county, Illinois, where he 
devoted his time and attention to agricult- 
ural pursuits, and so proved himself a most 
thorough and skillful farmer until called 
awav by death. 



Air. Heckard's first marriage was with 
Miss Mary Snook : to this union were born 
eignt children. Mrs. Heckard died and 
.April 15, 1898, Air. Heckard wedded Airs. 
Desdemonia Dunagan, who had one child 
by a former marriage. Airs. Elizabeth St. 
John, who resides with her aged mother 
and who was the first child born in Atlanta. 
Airs. Heckard is a devout member of the 
Baptist church, and is prominently known 
- . ner kind, genial nature, her charities and 
her earnest, eiificient church work, as was 
also her husband. 

Our sul)ject was an early pioneer of Illi- 
nois, and was prominentl}- identified with 
the history of Logan county. In politics he 
was a strong Republican, and a man hon- 
ored and respected by all who knew him. .As ^ 
a young man in the early days of Atlanta, * 
\vhen the country had not begun to reco\-er ■ 
the losses sustained during the great Civil J 
war, he grew up with the country and helped 
it to become a part of the leading nation of , 
the world to-day. 



JAMES W. COLLINS. 

One of the most successful and ])opular 
dentists of Lincoln, Illinois, is James ^^^ 
Collins, who was born in the citv of Lel)a- 
non, Kentucky, in 1851, and is a worthy 
representative oi a good old southern fam- 
ily, his parents being James E. and Laxisa 
V Bledsoe) Collins, natives of A'irginia. 
From the Old Dominion they removed to 
Kentucky, where they made a permanent 
settlement, there spending the remainder of 
their lives. 

Dr. Collins grew to manhood in Law- 
renceburg, Kentucky, and is indebted to its 
public and private schools for his literary 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



343 



ediicatiDii. In 1871 he went to Petersburg. 
Menard Cdunty. Illinois, where he cijni- 
menced the study of dentistry with Dr. H. 
B. Da\'is. In 1876 he came to Lincoln and 
()])ened an office, being actively engaged in 
]iractice in this city e\er since. His skill 
and ability haye won for him a liberal pat- 
ronage, and he is recognized as one of the 
most competent dentists of the place. 

Dr. Collins was one of the principal or- 
ganizers of the JNIutual and Logan County 
Telephone Companies, which are now in 
successful operation, and which haye reduced 
the cost to the jjatrons one-half of that paiil 
to the Bell Company. Their telephone lines 
now connect Lincoln with many of the 
neighljoring towns and are of great conyen- 
ience to the farmers of Logan county. He 
also organized the Mt. Pulaski Telephone 
Company and owns considerable of its stock. 
He has a nice home in Lincoln on one of its 
principal resident streets, and there hospital- 
it\' reigns supreme, the family haying a large 
circle of friends and acc^uaintances who are 
always sure of a hearty welcome within its 
dm irs. 

\n 1 88 1 Dr. Collins was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Leila Burgess, of Mt. Perry. 
Perry county. Ohio, a daughter of Edward 
and Mary A. (Peyton) Burgess. They 
have one daughter, jMarguerite, who is now 
a student in the Lincoln High School. 



HENRY B. BROWN, M. D. 

Dr. Henry B. Brown is a skilled physi- 
cian and surgeon of Lincoln, Illinois, whose 
knowledge of the science of medicine is 
broad and comprehensive, and whose ability 
in applying its principles to the needs of 
sufferins; humanity has gained him an en- 



\-iable prestige in professional circles. A na- 
ti\e of Kentucky, he was born in Hodgens- 
ville, December 6, 1851, and is a son of Pat- 
rick and Louisa (Enlows) Brown. His fa- 
ther was born in Virginia in 1800, of Scotch- 
Irish ancestry, while the mother was born 
in Kentucky in 1813, and belonged to an 
old family of that state, being a daughter of 
Abraham Enlows. 

Dr. P>rown grew to manhood in Logan 
county, Illinois, having come here in 1865. 
His early education was acquired in the dis- 
trict schools near his home. Having decided 
to enter the medical profession he studied 
toward that end, and read medicine for some 
time with Dr. John T. Hoclgen, of St. 
Louis, Alissouri. He then took a course of 
lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, 
where he was graduated in 1876, and later 
si>ent one year in the cit)' hospital there, sup- 
plementing the knowledge he had pre\'iously 
acquired by a course of practical training. 
In 1877 he came to Lincoln, where he has 
since engaged in general practice with 
marked success. 

The Doctor was married in 1883 to Miss 
Leila Wilbur, a daughter of Dr. C. T. Wil- 
Inw. superintendent of the state as\-lum for 
feeble-minded children at Lincoln. She died 
in 1895, leaving one son, Charles Hodgen, 
who is now attending Lake Forest Univer- 
sit}-. In 1897 15'"- Brown was again mar- 
ried, his second union being with Miss Mary 
Davison, of Lincoln, l:)y whom lie has one 
child, Mary Finley. 

The Doctor is a prominent Knight 
Templar Mason, a member of Constan- 
tine Commandery, No. 51. and fraternally 
he belongs to the State Medical Societ\', the 
American Medical Association, and the 
Brainard District Medical Society. He is 
surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad, 
and is recognized as one of the leading pli\'- 



344 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sicians nf this scctimi of the state, stancHiig' 
lii<;'h in iho pri i|\'ssi(iii. especially in surgery, 
[lis ])ractice is theretore e.\tensi\e and lu- 
crative, and he is one of the staff of St. 
Clara's I l(jsi)ilal. He is a director of J.inculn 
National Bank, also a trustee of IJncoln 
College, and a nienihcr of the llaptisl church, 
of which he is duenf the trustees. 



w. c. k. K.\h:sh:i'.ih:R 

W. C. R. Kaeseliier. ;i iinmiincut farmer 
ruid rei)resentati\e citizen of I'rairie Creek 
Idwuship, resides on scclinu 14 where he 
owns one hundred .-nul twcutv acres of rich 
lanuiiiL; land. llc]iasli\cd in l.ogan coun- 
ty since i8(k). Jle was born in Cicrniany on 
July y, 1829, and is a son of Frederick ;ind 
Louisa Kaesehier, who alwa\s li\cd in their 
nati\e laml where the f.nthei' was a laborer, 
;uid wlid'c he died. Two of their children 
cinie 111 America. naniel\- : Charles aiul our 
subject. Charles was a wayoninaker of Lin- 
coln, this ccuuUw and died there in 1889, 
luuing become well knuwn and highly re- 
spected in that coinnnuht\. 

( )ur subject settled in West Linculu 
township and worked oiu on l.arnis until he 
was married, in i8(i_^. to Miss ^lary .Schaup, 
a (laughter of John .Schaup. who was a 
laborer and died in Lincoln a\ here the re- 
mainder of his famil_\- still resiile. i\ir. and 
Mrs. Kaesebier ha\e had fourteen children, 
as follows: C'harles. whu married Miss 
Maggie Ihirdin and lives in .Sheridati town- 
ship: \\'illiam, who married Catherine Heal_\' 
and li\es in bjudcn N'illage, this countv ; 
.August, who li\cs in ()r\il township .and 
m.arried lunma Cross; .\nnic, wife of Will- 
lirun John Cross, of Or\ il township; Ru- 
dolph, who married Catherine Klokkcnga 



and lives in ()r\il township; Warren, at 
h(ime: .M.itilda. who married Dick Onkes, 
of ()r\ il township: Adnlph. .\lai\\\ Lottie 
.and l(l;i. ;ill tnur ;it home, and three who 
died in infauc\-. 

.\fler bis marri.age Mr. Kaesebier pur- 
chased ;i f.irm in West Lim-nln township, 
where he resided si.\ years, and then moved 
to Orvil township. Three years later he 
located on his present farm and carries on 
general farming most successfully. Polit- 
ically be is a Demtx'rat and for several vears 
has ser\-ed as school director of the towai- 
shi]), but while he alwa\s supports the can- 
didates of his party on national affairs, in J, 
local issues he votes for the best man. ]5oth " 
he ;md his excellent wife are members of the 
l.inberan church of J'juden and are \'erv 
highly respected both in the church ;md 
throughout the comnuinity in which they 
reside ;md w here their man\- excellent quali- 
ties .arc well known. 



TTTo^r.xs i\f. tt.\i>:kis. 

Among the ])ractitioners of law at the 
Lt>gan county bar stands Thomas M. Har- 
ris, of Lincoln, lie is a young man of 
strong purpose and laudable ambition, nf 
unfaltering energy and forceful intellectu- 
ality, and already he has won (hstinction 
lh;it m;uiy an older practitioner might well 
eu\y. Jle was born iuAIacoupin county. 
Illinois, October 21, 1865. and is a son of j 
John L. and Susanna (Lake) Harris. The 
Harris family is of \\'elsb lineage, while 
the maternal ancestry of oiu" subject is 
.Scotch, .ahbdugh the L.ake f.imily was 
founded in \'irginia at a \-ery early tlay. 
The grandfather, Thomas L. Harris, was 
born in the Old Dtnuinon and married a 




T. M. HARRIS. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



347 



j\Irs. Elizabeth Forman. They removed fo 
Ilhnois in 1856, and his death nccurred in 
[Nlaciiupin cnunty, this state, when he liad 
attained tlie advanced age of ninety-two 
^■eal■s. His son, Jdhn L. Harris, was born 
in Kentnck-\-, and after arri\ ing at years of 
maturity married Susanna Lake, a nati\-e 
of Sangamon county, Ihinois. and a daugh- 
ter of Tliomas and Harriet ( DiUon ) Lake, 
uho removed from \'irginia to Ihinois in 
1S33 and took up their almde in Sangannju 
county. 

Thomas AI. Harris pursued iiis educa- 
tion in the schools of Bedford. Iowa, 
whither his parents removed in his youth, 
and after completing his literai\\- course he 
engaged in teaching for three years, Ijut, de- 
termining t(_) make the practice of law his 
life work, he became a student in the office 
and under the directiim of the law firm of 
Blinn & Holilit, of Lincoln. In 1893 he 
was admitted to tlie bar, and for two years 
tliereafter -was in the employ of E. D. Blinn. 
with whom he formed a partnership in -1895, 
the firm of Blinn & Harris now taking front 
rank at the bar nf Logan county. ]Mr. Har- 
ris is a young man of much natural ability, 
and this is supplemented by industry, — 
\\ithout which there is no success. His 
devotion to his clients' interests is proverb- 
ial, and he prepares his cases with great 
thoroughness, so that he enters the court- 
room weir equipped for the mental contest. 
He is a close and earnest student, and his 
knowledge of the law is comprehensi\e'and 
exact. 

In October. 1895, Air. Harris was 
united in marriage to Aliss Belle Johnston, 
a daughter of William and Alargaret (Ir- 
\ine ) Johnston, both of wIiDm were nati\es 
of Scotland and came from Canada to the 
L^nited States. Two children jjrace the 



marriage of our subject and his wife, — - 
Homer B. and Dean J. The parents have 
a xery wide circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances, and the hospitalities of the best homes 
are extended to them. Socially Air. Harris 
is well known, being a prominent Alason, 
holding membership in Logan Lodge, No. 
210, A. F. & A. AI. ; Lincoln Chapter, No. 
147, R. A. AI. ; and Constantine Command- 
ery. No. 51, K. T. He is also a Noble of 
the Alystic Shrine, belonging to Alohammed 
Temple, at Peoria. A prominent Repub- 
lican, he is a man of influence in the coun- 
cils of his part}', and has labored effectively 
for its success. From 1894 until 1896 he 
was chairman of the Republican county- 
central committee, and during that period 
the ])arty carried the countx' at the elections 
held. He is a memljer of the Republican 
state committee for the seventeenth district, 
and is untiring in his efforts to secure the 
adoption of Reijulilican princii)les. believing 
them best calculated to advance the welfare 
of state and nation. His attention, how- 
ever, is chieiiy devoted to his pr(_)fession, and 
his rapid adwancemcnt is unmistakable 
proof of his ability. 



^^■ILLIAA[ RUPP. 



The aliility (>f a man to rise above the 
ranks of the commonplace and attain promi- 
nence in the business world presupposes a 
strength above the average, a stability of 
character that will endure all discourage- 
ment and disappointment and in the end 
triumph o\er exxry impediment that ob- 
structs the pathway to success. Such quali- 
ties have been manifest in the career of Mr. 
Rupp. who started out in life cmptv-handed. 



34S 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



I 



but is now one of the large land-owners and 
prosperous bankers of Logan county. He 
makes his home in Mount Pulaski, ha\-ing 
remo\-ed to this cit_\- (.m retiring from the 
farm. 

Mr. Rupp was burn in the village ot 
Diegelsberg, in the Kingdom of W'urt- 
emberg, Germany, ISIarch 6, 1838, a 
son of George and Catlierine (Boet- 
y.d) Rupp, who were also natives of 
the same country. In 185 1 they left 
the Fatherland, and with their family sailed 
from Havre, reaching New York after a 
voyage of twenty-one days. The_\- then pro- 
ceeded westward to Buffalo and by wa\- of 
Naples, Illinois, to Springfield, and later to 
Logan county. A\'hen they arrived here the 
combined cash capital of the family an'ouUI 
not have amounted to forty dollars. For 
three years the family resided U])on the 
farm owned by Theodore Lorenz, and then 
the father purchased one hundred and sixty 
acres near Latham. This was ne\v land, 
wild and unimpro\-ed, but the laljors of the 
father and his sons soon transformed it into 
a valuable and productixe tract. Their resi- 
dence, there erectetl, was the first brick 
house in the neighborhood. For many years 
the father successfulh- carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits and in his later years was en- 
abled to enjoy all the comforts and many 
of the luxuries of life. His wife died on the 
old homestead in 1886 and he survi\-ed her 
three years, dying in 1889. They were de- 
\'out members of the Lutheran church and 
earnest, consistent Christian people. The 
mother was a widow, Mrs. ^^'eller, at the 
time of her marriage to George Rupp. She 
had four children by her first marriage, 
namely: John, who died in Iowa; Martin, 
decea.sed ; George, one of the leading farmers 
of Logan county : and Margaret, widow of 
George Brooker. To J^Ir. and Mrs. Rupp 



^\■ere born three sons: Christian, who died 
in infancN': and William and Christian, of 
Ml. Pulaski. 

William Rupp liegan his education in 
the schools of his nati\-e land and after com- 
ing with his parents to the new world he 
continued his studies in the i)rimili\e 
schools of Logan county. His training at 
farm work was not meager, for he soon 
l)ecame familiar with the use of all farm 
implements and continued to assist in the 
cultivation of the old homestead until twen- 
t}-two years of age, when he married, the 
lad}' of his choice being Barbara .Stoll, of 
Logan county. .She was liorn in Germany 
and came to America when eight years of 
age in compan_\- with her father, Ehrhardt 
Stoll. 

.\fter his marriage ^Ir. Rupp began 
farming un his own account on the (jld fam- 
ily homestead of one hundred and si.xty 
acres, which he nijw (iwns. Later he pur- 
chased two hundred and eight\' acres in 
]Mt. Pulaski, antl at different times 
bought other tracts of eighty acres, of three 
lumdrecl and sixty acres and the farm near 
Latham of three hundred and twenty acres, 
making in all six hundred and eighty acres 
of land. This is now ^•er_\• valuable and 
the rental from his farm property brings 
him a very desiraljle income. He engaged 
in the raising of wheat and corn and also 
made a specia.lty of the Iireeding of fine 
hogs, ha\-ing some thoroughbretl males. 
His farming interests were carried on in- 
dustriously and his labors resulted in bring- 
ing to him year bv year a handsome in- 
come, which in part was laid by for future 
use. so that he is now the possessor of a 
handsome com])etencc. He lived upon the 
Mt. Pulaski farm for twelve years and then 
removed to Mt. Pulaski, renting his land. 
Here he purchased, in 1893, an interest in 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



349 



tlie First National Bank, of which he is now 
one of the leading stockholders and a di- 
rector. 

Air. Rupi) was one of the charter mem- 
bers of tlie Mutual Farmers Insurance Com- 
pany of Logan county, of which he has been 
a director for twel\-e years, and takes an ac- 
tive part in its affairs and has done much 
to bring the success the company now en- 
joys. 

Unto Mr. ami INIrs. Rupp ha\e been born 
three sons and seven daughters: Charles, 
who is living on the home farm; William, a 
banker of Benton Harbor, Michigan ; 
George, who is teller in tlie First National 
Bank of Mount Pulaski; Sarah, the wife of 
George Lachenmeyer, an extensive farmer 
of Logan count}- : Pauline, at home ; Carrie 
and Lillie. both at home; .Vmelia, a gradu- 
ate of Jacksonville College : Effie, attending 
the high school of Mount Pulaski ; and 
Catherine, deceased. The famih- have a 
very pleasant home in one of the principal 
residence districts of the city. The house 
is built in a modern style of architecture 
and is supplied with all modern con\'en- 
iences. In politics, on national questions, 
Air. Rupp advocates Democratic principles, 
but has never aspired to office, preferring 
to devote his time and attention to his busi- 
ness interests. He served, however, as 
township treasurer and road commissioner 
of Lacuna township for thirteen years. He 
and his family are members of the Luth- 
eran church, of which Mr. Rupp has been 
elder for many years and secretary of the 
board for the last ten years. He is a man 
of e.xcellent business judgment, of tuiflag- 
ging industry and strong purpose, and 
through an acti\-e business career he has 
steadily worked his way upward until he 
now stands in an enviable position on the 



planes of affluence. His life is an example 
well worthy of emulation to all who wish 
to gain prosperity through honorable ef- 
fort. 



PATRICK O'BRIEX. 

Among the prosperous and prominent 
citizens of Logan county are many who had 
their nati\'it}- in countries beA'ond the Atlan- 
tic, Imt in bo}-hood or early manhood left the 
lands of their birth to seek citizenship and 
make homes for themselves in this great re- 
pulilic of ours, .\mong those who have won 
an en\iablc place in this their adopted coun- 
ty is Patrick O'Brien, who resides on his 
farm in section 29, Atlanta township. He 
is the son of Michael and X('ra (O'Brien) 
O'Brien, both of whom were I)orn in County- 
Claire, IrelamI, where Michael O'Brien .fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer. 

Patrick O'Brien, one of four children in 
his father's family, was born October 18, 
1832, and reared on a farm. He came to 
the United States in 1859 and landed in the 
city of New York penniless. After a brief 
stay in that city he came to Tazewell county, 
Illinois, where he worked on a farm by the 
month. Being a man of economical habits 
he saved money and after twenty-two months 
purchased about eighty acres of land. In 
the spring of 1890, he moved to Logan coun- 
tv. locating on the farm where he now re- 
sides. It consists of oiie hundred and thirty- 
five acres of choice land within sight of the 
city of .\tlanta. On this farm he has been 
very successful. The young man who land- 
ed in the United States without moi-iey has 
bv his own efforts secured a competence 
which he ma)- enjoy with his many friends 
as long as he li\-es. 



35° 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. O'Brien was married, February 20, 
1865, to Miss Eliza Aladigan, a daughter 
of John Madigan, who was a native of Ire- 
land. Six children were born to ^Ir. and 
Mrs. O'Brien, namely : James, whose birth 
occurred February 25, 1866; Anna L., who 
was born April 3, 1868; Mary I., who was 
born July i, 1871, and is the wife of Robert 
Bishop, of Atlanta; Thomas W'., who was 
loom July 29, 1873; John M., who was born 
May 8, 1875. and died August 27, 1900; 
and Eliza C, her mother's namesake, who 
Avas born June 9, 1880. Mr. O'Brien and 
his family are devout members of the Cath- 
olic church. 

♦-•-♦ 

L.VXDRL'M BURCHETT. 

That interesting modern innovation, the 
department store, with its varied aggrega- 
tion of interests under one roof within easy 
access of the most enthusiastic shopper, is 
by no means confined to the larger cities, but 
has representatives conducted with con- 
summate skill in smaller tciwns of the uninn. 
At Xew Holland the firm of Burchett & 
Son ha\-e anticipated the all around needs of 
the community, and carry a complete line of 
dry-goods, notions, carpets, hats and caps. 
g'eneral merchandise and groceries, and have 
in all one of the best equipped department 
stores in Logan county, the \-alue of the 
stock being lietween twenty-fi\e and thirty 
thousand dollars. The firm also carries on 
in connection with their general enterprise a 
large private Ijanking business \\ith a paid 
up capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. 
the officers of the bank being, president, our 
subject, and cashier. C. \\'. Binns. 

Until his twentieth }ear the career of 
Landrum Burchett was une\'entful. and not 
different from that experienced by the aver- 



age farm reared boy. He was born in Ken- 
tucky, in January, 1844, and in his early 
days had unusuall}- good educational o])- 
portunities. His father, \\'illiam J. P>urch- 
ett, was born in Kentucky, and was reared 
and educated in his nati\e state. Upon at- 
taining his majority he engaged in farming 
on a large scale, and continued this occui)a- 
tion with success until his death in 1899. 
His wife, Emily (Anxier) Burchett, still 
snr\i\-es him. She is of French descent, and 
is the mother of nine children, three of whum 
are now living. 

The beginning of the Ci\-il war naturallv 
opened a \-ista of usefulness and adventure 
to Landrum Burchett, and in the early part 
of 1862 he enlisted in Company A. Thirtv- 
ninth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, and 
served with courage and distinction until 
Septemlier, 1865. After the cessation of 
hostilities he located in Maso'n county, Illi- 
nois, where he was employed as a clerk in a 
general merchandise store, and there gained • 
an excellent knowledge of business, manag- 
ing at the same time to save consideralile * 
money. In May, 1875, he fonne<l a part- 
nership with G. M. Laford, in the general 
merchandise business at New Holland, and 
continued the same initil the business was 
destroyed by fire in 1885. Nothing daunted, 
he immediately started up an even larger 
enterprise, taking as his partner his son, 
Oscar, with whom he h;is since ;imicaljlv 
continued to manage his large and growing 
enterprise. To his contemporaries in the 
business and social world Wv. Burchett is , 
not onl\' a model financier and sound busi- 
ness man, but he, represents the all around 
enterprise of New Holland, and is foremost 
in promoting her interests in whate\-er direc- 
tion. .\s a stanch and uncompromising ad- 
herent of the Reijublican party he has al- 
ways taken a tleep interest in the partw but 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



351 



lias never had the time nnv inchnaticm to 
hold ' 'V M-ek office. 

Mrs. Burchett was formerly Harriet \'aii 
Bibber, daugliter of Cyrus \'an Bibber, a 
I southerner by birth, claiming Virginia as 
his natal state, and a farmer by ocupation. 
^Irs. Burcliett. \vhi) was born i-'ebruary 21, 
J871, is the mother of one chiUl, Oscar. 



HIRAM LEWIS COSBY, :M. D. 

Dr. Hiram Lewis Cosb_\- is one of the 
best read and most successful physicians 
and surgeons of Lincohi, and althougli com- 
parati\-ely a young man has already won an 
enviaVjJe position in the ranks of his profes- 
sional brethren. He is a native of Logan 
county, born on a farm in Broadwell town- 
ship, October 2y. 1S65, and is a son of 
Nathaniel antl Eliza J. (Foster) Cosby. 
His father, who was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, was born in Richmond, \'irginia, in 
1813, and belonged to a good old Virginia 
family. The Doctor's great-grandfather 
came to this countr}- from Scotland at an 
early day and settled in the Old Dominion. 
In 1845 Nathaniel Cosby came to Logan 
ci:iunt_\-, Illinois, antl here he was united in 
marriage with Miss Eliza J. Foster, who 
was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1826, 
and was onh' four years old when brought 
to this state Ijv her father, Washington 
Foster, one of the pioneers of Logan countw 

The primary education of our subject 
was obtained in the district sch(3ols near his 
Ijoyhood hiime. and was supplemented 1)_\' a 
course at Lake Forest Lniversity at Lake 
Forest, Illinois, where he was a student for 
some time. He then commencetl the study 
of medicine with Dr. H. B. Brown, of Lin- 
coln, and later attended Rush ^Medical Col- 



lege, Chicago, where he was graduated in 
1S89 at the head of his class. He opened 
an office in Lincoln in August of that year, 
and has since engaged in practice at this 
place with most excellent success. Going 
to Eurc)pe in 1892, he took a special course 
in surgery in the hospitals of Vienna, Hei- 
delburg, Paris and London, remaining 
abroad three years. On his return to Amer- 
ica he resumed practice in Lincoln, and is 
today one of the leading practitioners of the 
place, his patronage being quite extensive. 
He is a close and thorough student, a man 
of deep research, and his in\-estigations into 
the science of medicine and his skillful ap- 
plication of the knowledge he has thereby 
acquired has won him a place in the fore- 
most ranks of the medical profession. He 
is a member of the Brainard District ]\Iedi- 
cal Society. 

In 1891 Dr. Cosby married Miss Mary 
Barrett, of Lincoln, a daughter of M. W. 
Barrett, one of the prominent citizens of 
this place. She was educated in the schools 
of Lincoln and Boston, Alassachusetts. The 
Doctor and his wife have one son, !Mark 
Barrett Cosb\'. 



LEONARD K. SCROGGIN. 

]\Iore than three-sc(.)re years and ten ha\-e 
passed since Leonard K. Scroggin became a 
resident of Logan county, and he is justly 
numbered among her honored pioneers and 
leading citizens. He has been prominently 
identified with her business interests as a 
farmer and banker. Tiis is an honorable 
record of a conscientious man who by his 
upright life has won the confidence of all 
with whom he has come in contact. Through 
more than four score vears he has traveled 



3S-' 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



life's journey, but altluuis;h tlio siunvs of 
many winters lia\e fallen upon him he has 
the \ igor of a niueh younger man and in 
spirit and interests seems yet in his prime. 
His is an active old age. and his has been an 
active life. He is to-day numbered among 
the most prospermis men of central Illinois. 
a iX)sition to which he has attained entirely 
through his own efforts and as the result of 
untiring energy, enterprise anil determina- 
tion. 

Leonartl 1\. Scroggin was born in lial- 
latin county. Illinois. January 25. 1819. and 
is descentled from prominent old southern 
families. His jiaternal grandfather. lium- 
phrey Scroggin. was a native of Xorth 
Carolina and married Miss Sarah Kirby. of 
Virginia. At the age of seventeen he offered 
his services to the Continental Army and 
fought throughout the struggle ior inde- 
pendence, being present when Lord Corn- 
wnllis surrendered the British troops to Gen- 
eral Washington at Yorktowii. and thus 
practically ended the war and proclaimed the 
liberty of the colonists. Carter T. Scrog- 
gin. the father of our subject, was born in 
Kentucky, Inn in territorial days in Illinois. 
he came with his peoi)le to that common- 
wealth, locating in Gallatin county, where 
he met and married Phebe Shelby, a native 
of Xorth Carolina, whence she removed 
with her parents to Tennessee and thence to 
Pope couiUy. Illinois. Her father. Jacob 
Shelby, married Miss Easter, anil the great- 
grandfather was a native of Wales. 

When Carter T. Scroggin came with his 
parents to this state in iSii. they lived in 
a little log cabin, sixteen by eighteen feet, 
and there emlured all the hardships and 
privations of pioneer life. In iSjj. having 
married in the meantime, he brought his 
family to Logan county, settling four miles 
south of ^[ount Pulaski, where he estab- 



lished his linnic, lixing in an unhewn log 
hou.se with i)unchei)n fli.H)r that stood near 
the timber skirting Lake Fork. He purchased 
his land from the government anil at once 
began the dexelopment of a farm which he 
improvetl as the years passed, making it a 
\aluable pri>i)ert\-. As his financial re- 
siiurces increased he also added to his prop- 
ert\- until at the time of liis death lie was the 
owner of six hundred acres of \aluable land, 
riie familv went through the usual experi- 
ences of ]iicineer life, when comforts and 
conveniences were hard to obtain owing to 
the remoteness fron: towns and the lack of 
transportation facilities. In the winter of 
183G-31 occurred what has since been known 
in history as the "deep snow. " during which 
time the family lived on corn meal ixninded 
in a wooden mortar and never tasting wheat 
bread from Xovember until the following 
spring. Mr. Scroggin died in 1859. lea\ing" 
a \aluable farm and other property to his 
ten children. The members of the family 
were Mary A.. Russell Shelby. Humphrey. 
E.sther J.. Sarah E.. Pleasant M.. Carter T.. 
Thomas J.. Ellen and Leonanl K. 

The last nametl was a little lad of only 
eight summers when brought by his family 
to Logan county and amid tlie wild scenes 
of the frontier he was reared. He pursued 
his education in a log school house during 
three moiuhs in the year and throughout the 
remainder of the time i)erformed such work 
on the farm as his age and strength would 
permit, at length becoming able to do a 
man's work in the fields. After his mar- 
riage he began farming on his own account 
on forty acres of his own entering, also hav- 
ing entered forty acres of timber land. There 
he resided for eleven years, in the meantime 
extending the Ixwndaries of the place until 
it comprised one hundred and tw enty acres. 
He followed general farming and also raised 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



353 



cattle, horses, sheep and hogs. Success at- 
tciifled his well directed efforts and as the 
vears passed he made judicious investmaits 
in land until he is now the owner of five 
thousand acres in Logan county alone. His 
landed p<»ssessions elsewhere aggregate 
twenty thousand acres, including land in Xe- 
braska and Missouri and tai thousand acres 
rit Minnesota land, which he has purchased 
within the last eighteen months. He is a 
man of keen business sagacity, his judgment 
rarely if ever at fault, and this quality has 
lablefl hijii to so place his money in farm- 
g property that he is reaping a gfxjd finan- 
ial return therefrom continually. In May, 
1K72. Mr. Scroggin organized the Farmers 
IJank. and in the business associated his son 
with him. The institution has been a pay- 
ing one from the Ijeginning. The reliability 
< if the owner and their safe business methods 
'lave made it one of the solid financial insti- 
1 itions of the county and its patronage has 
reached extensive proportions. 

Jn early manhood Le<jnard K. Scroggin 
•■as united in marriage to Miss Lavinia 
1 '.uckles. a daughter of Robert Buckles. She 
was Ixirn in Logan county in 1826 and the 
marriage was celebrated in 1841. Mrs. 
.Scnjggin was called to her final rest Jan- 
uary 16, 1863. The ten children, three sons 
rind seven daughters. l)om of this union all 
grew to mature years, namely: Alfred C. ; 
Mary and Elsie, now deceased; Angeline: 
] 'hoelje .\nn ; Sarah : Leonard ; Susan and 
JJenjamin F. and Evaline. deceased wife of 
(ieorge \'ea\. After the death of his first 
wife -Mr. Scroggin was again married, his 
-econd union being with Mrs. Rhoda A. 
I'ickering. the widow of Thomas Pickering 
and the daughter of Gorge Girtman, form- 
erly of Missouri, whence he removed to 
Mount Pulaski township. Logan county, 
where the birth of Mrs. Scroggin occurred. 



By the second marriage there were three 
children : Herbert, now deceased ; Thfjmas 
A., who is cashier in the Farmers Bank ; and 
Edna, the wife of Logan Andrews. 

Logan county and especially Mount Pul- 
aski owes much to the enterprising spirit of 
Mr. Scroggin, who has been particularly act- 
ive in the upbuilding and improvement of 
the city. He built the bank, opera house 
and the Scroggin House in 1877, has erected 
other fine buildings and has cj-operated in 
many movemaits and measures for the gen- 
eral g(xx]. In pfjlitics he has l)een a life- 
long Demrjcrat, unswerving in support of 
the principles of the party, although party,- 
ofiice or emoluments have had no attraction 
for him. He holds membership in the Chris- 
tian church, and has ever Ijeen a man of 
upright principles, honorable in business and 
trustworthy in every relation of life. In 
January. 1899. on the eightieth anniversary 
of his birth a family reimion was held at 
which thirteen families were represented, 
si.xty in all Ijeing present, including, chil- 
dren, grandchildren and great-grandchil- 
dren. The family which Mr. Scroggin has 
established is a credit to hfs name and the 
part which they have played in the affairs of 
Logan county is an iinportant one. Xo his- 
tory of this section of the state would be 
complete without mention of this honorefl 
and venerable gentleman, one of the leading 
agriculturists of the state and a man of uj)- 
right principles and sterling worth, honored 
and respected by all who know him. 



JOHX W. SEXTOX. 

Among the soldier-citizens of Logan 
county, Illinois. John W. Sexton, of Ches- 
ter township, is recognized as one of the 



354 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



best representatives of those bra\e men who 
risked tlieir hves to preserve tlie union and 
our liberties. !Mr. Sexton was born in Ten- 
nessee. Xovember 28, 1836, and went to 
Springfield,, Illinois, in 1858 from his nati\'e 
state. 

Later he came t( 1 Logan C(_iunt_\' and here 
he was marrietl to ^Vliss Sarah J. Bailey. 
They had fi\e children, four of whom are 
living, namely ; George S., who is married 
and resides at home ; Anna Rozella, who is 
the wife of Nicholas Hocker and resides in 
Lincoln: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Xor- 
man A. Scanlan and resides in Atliens, Illi- 
nois; and Eliza J., who is the wife of Will- 
iam Price. The first wife died in 1875 and 
March 18, 1879. }ilr. Sexton married ]\Iiss 
Xancy Lott, by whom he has had five chil- 
dren, as follows : Clara Bell, who is tlie 
wife of Charles Smock and resides at home : 
John Edmund: Charles Albert: Ernest H. ; 
and \Mlliam ^iIcKinley. who are at home. 
Mrs. Sexton was burn in Wheeling, West 
Virginia, and came to Illinois in 1864 with 
her parents, George and Rebecca (Bonner) 
Lott, who located in Sangamon county. 

In church matters Mr. Sexton is a mem- 
ber of the L'nited Brethren church, while 
his wife belongs to the Christian church, 
and both are very worthy people. He has 
always been a Republican and supports the 
candidates of that party. 

Mr. Sexton is justly jjroud of his record 
as a soldier, for he fought Ijravely for his 
country. He was a member of the One 
Hundred and Eourteenth Regiment of Illi- 
nois \'olunteer Infantry, was mustered in at 
Springfield, and served for three years. 
Among the battles in which he participated 
w-ere those of Vicksburg, Champion Hill, 
Jackson. Mississippi, (iermantown. and 
many others. During all these engagements 



]\Ir. Sexton was ne\er wounded or cap- 
tured, although he was always in the thick- 
est of the fight. At the close of the war 
he was honorabh- discharged at Spring- 
field and returned home to his more peace- 
ful duties. Although he only recei\-ed a 
common school education, he is well in- 
formed on current t(jpics and occupies a 
well recognized place among the substantial 
men of Chester township, where he has re- 
sided for so nianv vears. 



WILLIA}^! X. MOUXTJOY. 

The suljject of this personal history is 
one of tiie leading agriculturists of Emi- 
nence township, and belongs to one of its 
prominent old families, being a son of \\ ill- 
iam and Sina \'. (Thompson) Mountjoy. 
fhe father was born in Kentucky, June 29, 
1822. and in 1834 came to Logan county, 
and settled on section 35, Eminence tinvn- 
ship. where he lived for man}- years. The 
greater part of his life was devoted to farm- 
ing, though at one time he was engaged in 
the mercantile business at Armington, 
'J'azewell county, but was only interested 
there for about two years. He controlled 
considerable property, having met with ex- 
cellent success in his undertakings, enabling 
him to accpiire a large estate. He was a 
well-read man and a most capable financier. 
His death occurred April 9, 1894. and the 
mother of our subject passetl awa}- Septem- 
Ijer 26. i860, at the age of thirty-eight 
\ears. The father was again married, his 
sec<.nul union being with Miss Eh'ina 
Thompson. Of the eight children born of 
the first union seven still survive. By the 
second marriage there was one child that 
grew to matiu'it\', E. L. Blount jo\-. a sketch 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



357 



of wliom will be found on another page of 
this work. 

\\'illiam X. Mountjoy, of this review, 
A\as born in Eminence township, on the iith 
of }ilarch, 1850, and received a good, prac- 
tical education in the district school. On 
starting out in life for himself, at the age of 
twentv-one, he clu^sc the (Occupation to 
which he had been reared — that of farming, 
— and for four years operated a farm on 
section 2, Eminence township. He then 
removed to ]Mt. Hupe tijwnship, ]\IcLean 
county, where he made his home until his re- 
moval to his present farm in 18S9. This 
place consists of two hundred and forty acres 
of rich and aral)le land on sections 13 and 
14, Eminence township, and is one of the 
best cultivated and must desirable farms of 
its size in the locality. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. IMountjoy led to the mar- 
riage altar Miss ^Martha C. Stroud, a daugh- 
ter of Laban Stroud, one of Tazewell 
county's most progressive citizens, and a 
representative of an old family. ^Irs. 
Mountjoy, who was born October 16, 1850, 
is a descendant of one Peter Stroud, her 
great-great-grandfather, who was a native 
of North Carolina. Me married, and one 
of his children, Jesse, became the great- 
grandfather of Mrs. JMountjoy. The latter's 
son, Thomas Stroud, married Sally Thomp- 
son in 1812, the marriage ceremony being 
performed in Tennessee. A large family 
was tlie result of tliis union, one ijf whom 
was Laban, the father of Mrs. Mountjoy. 
He came to Illinois with his parents in 1830, 
at the age of twelve years, and settled in 
what is now Eminence township, Logan 
county, where they lived until death callec! 
them to their final rest. Laban Stroud, on 
leaving home, took up his residence in 
Tazewell county, \\herc he Ii\'ed until about 
twelve years ago, when he mo\-ed to Liv- 



ingston county and took up his residence in 
Pontiac, where he is now living a retired 
life. He has met with success in his under- 
takings and is able to lay aside the more 
active duties of life and enjuy the fruits 
of former toil. 

As a result of the union of William 
]\Iountjoy and Alartha C. Strc.aid, the follow- 
ing children have been born: Lorain 'SI., 
born October 8, 1873; Leslie E., June 
16, 1875; Lena M., February 25, 1877; 
Edna B., January 4, 1879; Bessie S., Sep- 
tember 16, 1880; Henry D., May 13, 
1883: and Harry X., August 28, 1887. 
Lena M., the only child that is married, is 
now the wife of Frank Goodman. 

The family all hold membership in the 
Christian church, and yiv. Mountjoy is also 
a member of tlie Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He uses his right of franchise in 
sup]iort of the men and measures of the Re- 
publican party, and for seven years he effici- 
ently serx'cd as road commissioner in his 
township. He takes an active interest in 
promoting the welfare of his township and 
county, encouraging and financially aiding 
all enterprises tending to benefit the public, 
and enjoys in a high degree the confidence 
and esteem of his fellow men. 



JAMES B. FOLEY. 

One of the most progressive and ener- 
getic farmers of Atlanta township is James 
B. Folev, who is living on section i. He is 
one of Logan c(,>unty"s nati\'e sons and a 
representati\'e nf uue of her old and hon- 
ored families, whose identification with her 
history dates from an early period in the 
development nf the count}-. It A\as in the 
fall of 1834 that his grandparents, Steplien 



358 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and Elizabeth Foley, located here and pur- 
chased four hundred acres of land in At- 
lanta township, upon which he made his 
home until called to his final rest in 1849. 
He was a native of \'irg-inia and his wife of 
Pennsylvania. Her death occurred here in 
1864. In their family were twelve children. 

Stephen L. Foley, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Clarke county, Ohio, and 
w'as reared on the homestead farm, his edu- 
cation being" acquired in the country schools 
of this county. In April. 1855, he was 
united in marria,g"e with Miss Phoebe Houch- 
in, who died April 14, 1861, and he was 
again married August 10, 1862, his second 
union 1>eing with Miss Emeline Hanle}'. who 
was originally from Ohio, and by whom he 
had three cliildren. two still living, namely: 
Fannie, wife of Walter C. Decker, of At- 
lanta township; and James B., our subject. 
Throughout life the father followefl agri- 
cultuiral pursuits, operating the old home 
farm. There he died Feliruary 2~, 1891. 
and the mother of our subject passed awa_\' 
May 4. 1 90 1. 

James B. Foley, of this review, was horn 
on the old homestead in Atlanta township, 
March i, 1867. and received a good practical 
education in the common schools of this 
county, at the same time acquiring an e.\- 
cellent knowledge of all the duties which fall 
to the lot of the agriculturist. His life has 
been spent .(ju the farm where he first opened 
his eyes to the light of day, and he is miw 
the owner of one hundred and fifty acres of 
land on sections 2^2 and },},, Atlanta town- 
shili]), and si.xteen acres in Oran township, 
which he rents. He is a thorough and sys- 
tematic farmer, and is meeting with excel- 
lent success in business aifairs. 

Mr. Foley was married Xo\ember 6. 
1887, to Miss Heleii Mehrten. a daughter 
of Deitrick and Catherine (Becker) Alehr- 



ten, who came to this country from Ger- 
many. One child blesses this union, Donald, 
\vho was born ^larch 6, 1890, and is now 
attending the schools of Atlanta. He is a 
\ery bright, energetic lad of eleven years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Foley have a very pleasant 
home supplied with modern improvements 
and cnn\eniences. Both are members of the 
-Methodist church, and are highly res]jected 
])}• all who know them for their genial and 
l^leasant manner. Socially Mr. Foley is a 
member of the Independent Order of W\\- 
tual Aid, and politically he aiTiliatcs with the 
Republican part}-. 



ERASTUS WRIGHT BATES. 

riie subject of this personal narrative 
is one of the most successful and progressive 
agriculturists within the borders of East Lin- 
coln township, his home being on section 
},2. He has made his special field of indus- 
try an eminent success, and is to-day the 
owner of some \-alual5le property. He has 
been a resident of Illinois since 1854, and 
after residing in Sangamon county si.x years 
came to Logan county, where he has since 
made his home. 

Air. Bates was born in Orleans county, 
A'ermont, June 15, 1847, a son of ^^'illiam 
P. and .\nn (Wright) Bates, who were 
early settlers of this county, the father Iie- 
ing engaged in farming in Broadwell town- 
ship for se\-eral years, and in the lumber 
and real estate business in Lincoln for ten 
years. He sub-divided three divisions 
of West Lincoln. His wife was a sister 
of Erastus \\''right, who laid out the origi- 
nal plat of Lincoln, ^\'illiam P. Bates spent 
the greater part of his active life in Logan 
county, and became widely and favorably 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



359 



known in this localit}', but was residing with 
a daugliter in Springfield at the time of his 
death. He was born January 12, 1807, and 
died in April. i8qi. His wife, who was 
born in 181 1, died at the home of her son 
in Lincoln in 1888. They were the parents 
of six children, of whom four are still liv- 
ing, namely: Airs. Eliza J. Aldrich, a 
widow living in Cliicago : .Mrs. P. W. 
Harts, uf Springfield; Erastus \\'., our sub- 
ject; and I\Irs. Emn:a Hale, of Chicago. 
The two older daughters completed their ed- 
ucation in Jacksonville. Illinois, and the 
youngest at Andn\-er. Massachusetts. The 
father was originally a Whig in politics 
and on t!ie dissolution of that party became 
a Republican. In earl_\- life he was captain 
of militia in N'ermont, and was always quite 
]M'ominent in the community where he made 
his home. 

After attending the public schools of 
Lincoln, Erastus W. Bates took a commer- 
cial course at the Springfield Business Col- 
lege. He then worked on his father's farm 
in Elkhart township until 1875. when he 
purcha.sed six hundred acres of land, for 
which he paid thirt\"-eight dollars per acre, 
but it has since trebled in value. In connec- 
tion with farming he has engaged in the 
stock-raising Inisiness on an extensive scale, 
and has been remarkably successful in both 
undertaking's. He now has twenty-six hun- 
dred and forty acres of valuable land in Lo- 
gan count}', all under cultivation, which he 
rents, except the home place of se\'enty- 
eight acres on section 2,2, East Lincoln 
township, where he located in 1891. Here 
he has a very commiKlious and elegant mod- 
ern residence, built in 1893, and the other 
improvements upon the place are in keep- 
ing with his home. Besides his farm prop- 



ert_\', Air. Bates owns some real estate in 
Lincolii. 

On the 19th of August, 1875, Air. Bates 
married Aliss Adaline Gillette Chamberlin, 
a niece of John Gillette. She was born in 
Xew Haven, Connecticut, in 185 1, and after 
completing her education was engaged in 
teaching in the i)ul.)l'ic schools of that state. 
By this union there have been boni three 
children: Annette C, at home; Adaline 
G., wlio was married May 15, 1901, to Rob- 
ert P. Hartwell, of Cleveland, Ohio; and 
William C who took a scientific course at 
Lincoln Uni\'ersity, and since his gradua- 
tion has traveled quite extensively in the old 
world. 

Air. Bates and his wife are meiiibers of 
the Cumberland Presbyterian church of 
Lincoln, and he is a Reiiulilican in politics 
and a great party worker. Systematic and 
methodical, his sagacity, keen discriniination 
and sound judgment have made him one of 
the most prosperous farmers in Logan coun- 
ty, and he is highly respected and esteemed 
by all with whom he comes in contact, 
either in business or social life. 



THOMAS AI. C.VAIERER. 

This well known citizen of Atlanta is 
one of the most e.xtensive contractors and 
builders of Logan and adjoining counties. 
Thoroughly reliable in all things, the qual- 
ity of his work is a con\'incing' test of his 
personal worth and the sanie admiral)le trait 
is shown in his conscientious discharge of 
the duties of the different positions of trust 
and responsibility to which he has been 
chosen in business and political life. 



36o 



1 1]-. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Camerer is one of Illinois' native 
sons, his birth having occnrred in iidgar 
cotmty, January 7, ii^S^- He is one of a 
family of eight ohildrL-n, whose parents were 
John and Harriet (Dill) Camerer. The 
father was Ijorn in the Keystone state, in 
October, 1805, and belonged to an old Penn- 
sylvania family. When a young man he 
went to Ohio, where he learned the plas- 
terer's trade, and it was there that he met 
and married Miss Harriet Dill. In the fall 
of 1832 he emigrate!] to Illinois and became 
me of the pioneer settlers of lulgar county, 
■.vhere he followed his trade, together with 
farming, until his death, which occurred 
about 1S47. The mother of our subject 
died in Edgar county, Illinois, in 1S49. Her 
father was Benjamin Dill, who was a farm- 
er bv occupation and spent the greater i)art 
of his life in Ohio, Inil the last fifteen years 
he lived in this state. 

I-Jeared ujjon the honje farm in the midst 
of frontier scenes, Thomas M. Camerer ob- 
tained a meager education in an old log 
school house, where he jmrsued his studies 
for a few months. .\t the age of nineteen 
he commenced learning the trade of a cabi- 
net maker in his native county, but in 1856 
turned his attention to the carjjcnter's trade, 
which he has followed ever since. For 
forty-one years he has now been a resident 
of Logan county, and is to-day one of its 
most prominent contractors and Iniilders. 
His son. John T.. is uow^ associated with 
him in business, and they employ from eight 
to ten men during the busy season. 

Mr. Camerer was married in i80() to 
Miss Marguerite McKee, a .laughter of 
John >rcKee, of .Atlanta, and to them were 
born four cliildren, but only two are now 
living, namely: John T.. who was born in 
1864, and is now in p.artnersbi]) with his fa- 
ther; and I'earl. who was born in iS^f). 



In business affairs Mr. Camerer lias 
steadilv pros])ered, and has been a director 
of the .\tlanta .National Bank since 1896. 
He is the oldest Odd Fellow in the city. 
hi politics he is identified with the Repub- 
lican parlv, and his'felhnv citizens, recog- 
nizing his cajjabilities, have called u])on him 
to serve as super\'isor of Atlanta township 
three terms ; and alderman of the city of At- 
lanta two terms. He discharged the duties 
of both positions in a most creditable and 
satisfactory maimer. He is one of the lead- 
ing men of the city and is noted for his 
])leasing manner and liberality. 



|(Jll.\ .Sl'lXKER. 



|i>hn .S])inker. a farmer and owner of 
twu hundred acres (jf rich farming land on 
section K), I'rairie Creek township, Logan 
county. Illinois, has been a resident of this 
county since i8C)7 and is recognized as (jiie 
of the prosperous citizens <if his locality. 

Our subject was born in (iLrmany, May 
23, 1853, and is a .son of Jc^hn and .Maggie 
(Dowaii) S])inker, both of whom were na- 
tives of Ck'rmanx-. 'i'licy came to .\merica 
ill 18^17, and after landing in Xew ^'ork 
came to I'eoria. Jllinois, and remained there 
one winter, 11iey then located in Prairie 
Creek townshii), Logan county, on section 
pj, upiiii the farm our subject now owns, 
and resided there until their demise, the fa- 
ther's death occurring in 1888, and the 
mother's Ai)ril 3, 1897. Seven children 
were Ihumi to them, namely: Hanuali, de- 
ceased wife of Philip Lob, who resides in 
Alissouri; .Minnie, who married F.fl. Ynu- 
can. and is now deceased: John, our sub- 
ject: Henry, who dieil in (80<;: Willie, who 
died in ( ierman\- ;md two others who died m 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^6i 



inf;uK-\- in Gcnnany. Tliose \vli(i survived 
received gcxjil cuiiunDn-school cducatinns. 

After c<)m])letiiitj liis education in tiie 
district sclnidk. Mr. Si)inker eniliarked in 
liis life \vorl< — fanuing — and eni^agcd with 
\arii)us farmers nf the neiiiiiljuriiDod and 
assisted his father (in the nld Imnif^stead. 
After the death (if his father lie tuol'; cliarge 
<if the hduie place antl mnv owns one of the 
lincst farms in the county, where he carries 
on oenei'al fai'min<;' and stock raisin^', in 
which he has heen \-ery successful. 

On July to, 1893, Mr. Spinker married 
Catherine ]^thscra])er, a natix'e of Germany, 
and li\e children have heen horn of this 
union, namely: Henry; Uscar ; \\'illiam, 
deceased; and Clarence and Esther, twins. 
In politics he is a Repuhlican ;uid hoth he 
and his wife are earnest memhers of the 
Methodist ciun"ch of San Jose, this county. 

The nephew of Mr. S])inker, Jlarrv 
Spinker, also resides ujxin the farm and as- 
sists our suhject in the conduct of the farm. 
J'y his uprightness of i)in"pose, honestx' of 
dcalint;' and i^enial manner, Mr. Spinker has 
made nian\' friends lor himself and is \'ery 
])opular not onl\- in the township hut also 
throui^hout the entire C(_iunty. 



jOSEi'H A. TAUKE, 

Josepli A. Taljke, assistant cashier of 
the German-. \merican National Bank of 
Lincoln, Illinois, was horn in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, Novemher 14, JH59, a son of .\nton 
and I'.lixalieth ( Taphorn ) Tahke. who were 
natives of ' )ldenhnrs;', (iermany, and emi- 
Si'rated to the L'nited States when young, 
their marriage heing celehrated in Cincin- 
nati, ( )hio, where llie father was en.t^aj^ed 
in husiness for fifteen vears. Suhseciuenth' 



they were residents of St. Louis, Missouri, 
for a time and then returned to Cincinnati. 
In iXSo they came to Lincoln, Illinois, where 
the father lived retired until his death, which 
occurred July 14. 18X6. His wife still sur- 
N'ives him .and now makes her home with 
our subject in Lincoln. 

J(jsei)h A. Tahke is the second son in 
his father's family and the only one now 
lix'inj^'. He recei\efl the rudiments of his 
education in the pnhlic schools of Cincin- 
nati, and later attended the parochial school 
at St. J'eters, Missouri, where lie prosecuted 
his studies f(jr a time. I le then entered St. 
Francis Seminary at St. I-'rancis, Wisconsin, 
where he was graduated, and later com- 
pleted the ])rescrihed course at the Peoria 
Normal College, graduating there in 1880. 
Coming to Lincoln, Mr. T.ahke then en- 
gaged in teaching in St. Marx's parochial 
school for live years, and on the expiration 
of that time he entered the eniplo}- of the 
Lincoln Xalion.'d Hank, where he remained 
ahout three years, when he was chosen as- 
sistant cashier in the {;crman-.\mericaii Na- 
tional liank, which responsible position he 
has since acceptably tilled. 

Jn 1892 Mr. 'J'abke was united in mar- 
riage with Mrs. Mary Spitly, of Lincoln, 
a daughter of John and .Mary l^ckcrt, and 
bv this union were born two sons: Joseph 
A., deceased; and Carl W. As a Democrat 
Mr. Tabke has taken (|uite an active and 
influential ]),art in local politics, and for six 
years he represented the third ward in the 
city council, during which time the city hall 
was built and a number of other im[)rove- 
ments made. He is a member of St. Mar- 
tin's Aid Society and the Catholic or(,ter of 
[''oresters, and is an affable and polished 
gentleman of high social qualities and very 
])opular, having a most extensive circle of 
friends .and ac(iu;iintances who esteem him 






362 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



highly. He loelongs to St. Mary's church, 
of which he was at one time a trustee, and 
also was organist ami director of the choir. 
He built a fine house at 309 West Sixth 
street. Mr. Tabke has made his present po- 
sition entirely unaided, having started in 
life poor and worked his way steadil}- up^ 

ward. 

•-•-♦ 

JOHN W. EOZARTH, M. D. 

One of the \'(jung"er representati\'es of 
the medical fraternity in Logan county who 
lias already attained success and prominence 
that many an older practitioner might well 
envy is Dr. John W. Bozarth. of JMount Pu- 
laski. The influence of heredity and envir- 
onment upon the fate of men are subjects of 
much comment both among the profession 
and the laity, and it is probable that both had 
something to do with shaping the career of 
our subject. His father and his grandfather 
were both successful physicians. The lat- 
ter, Dr. Til ford Bozarth, was a native of 
France and emigrating to the new world 
became a resident of Kentuck)-. where he 
engaged in ministering to the sick for a 
number of years. He married Aliss Dorcas 
Biggerstaff and they became the parents of 
a son, to whom they gave the name of Da- 
vid and who became the father of our sub- 
ject. After completing his literary educa- 
tion he took up the study of medicine and 
in 1865 was graduated from Scudder"s .Med- 
ical College at Cincinnati, Ohio. His entire 
life was devoted to his chosen calling and 
the last twenty years of his career were 
spent as a successful medical practitioner at 
Stone Fort, Illinois, where his death oc- 
curred in 1900. In early manhoud he had 
married Miss i\Iary E. Holloway. a daugh- 
ter of Rev. Burton and Malinda (W'asson) 



Holloway, the former a minister of the 
]\Iethodist Episcopal church, who devoted 
his energ}- and mental acti\"it\' to the sa\"ing 
of souls, exerting strong influence for good 
upon those among whom he lived and la- 
l.)ored. 

Dr. Bozarth, the immediate subject of 
this review, spent his childhood days in his 
parents' home and after acquiring his pre- 
liminary education in the public schools be- 
came a student in Enfield College, in White 
county, Illinois, and subsecjuently attended 
the State Xormal School at Xormal, Illi- 
nois. Later he successfully engaged in 
teaching in Pope and Logan counties for 
ten years, having the ability to impart read- 
ily and clearly to others the knowledge he 
had accpiired. He was also an excellent 
disciplinarian and his work as an educator 
gave uniform satisfaction. Abandoning the 
profession of teaching he took up the study 
of medicine and entered the ^Marion Sims 
[Medical College, of St. Louis, Missouri, in 
which institution he was graduated in 1898 
with honors after successfully passing a 
competitive examination. He received a 
hospital appointment and spent twelve 
months in the Rebecca hospital in St. Louis 
as house physician, where he added to his 
theoretical knowledge by broad and di\er- 
sified experience. Coming back to [Mount 
Pulaski on the expiration of that period he 
associated himself with Dr. P. H. Oyler, 
and the firm of Oyler & Bozarth now occu- 
pies a position in the front rank among the 
capable and leading physicians of this part 
of the cciunty. 

In September, 1895, Dr. Bozarth was 
unitetl in marriage to Miss Etta Temple- 
man, of this city, a daughter of Hon. R. H. 
and E. ( Shoupe) Templeman. They now 
have one daughter, Xorma. Their jileasant 
home is the center of many entertaining 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



363 



social functions and is noted for its gracious 
liospitality. The Doctor holds membershi]) 
in .Mdunt Pulaski Lodge, No. 87, A. F. & 
A. M.: Mount Pulaski Chapter, R. A. M. ; 
and Mount Pulaski Commandery, No. 21, 
K. T. He is examining physician for the 
Alodern Woodmen of America and the 
]\I}stic Workers of the ^^'orld. He is also 
a member of the board of education, antl 
realizing' the value of mental discipline and 
the accpiirement of knowledge as a prepara- 
tion for life work, the cause of the schools 
is one dear to his heart and his labors have 
l)een et¥ecti\-e in their behalf. He belongs 
to the Illinois State Medical Society and 
ever keeps in touch with the advancement 
that is being made along lines of medical 
research and discoverv, so that he is well 
(|ualihed to discharge the ardous duties in- 
\olved by his profession. His reputation 
is now assured and his patronage is con- 
tinualh- increasing. 



JOHN T. READ. 

The agricultural interests of Logan 
county are in the hands of men \\ell fitted 
for their management, and among these 
there is no more intelligent or highly re- 
spected farmer than John T. Read. The 
liirth of I\Ir. Read occurred in Broadwell 
township, Logan count}', January 10, 1859, 
and he is a son of George W. and Margaret 
( Kline) Read, the former of whom was 
l.)i;)rn in 1831 and is now an esteemed resi- 
dent of Lincoln, and the latter was Ixu'n 
in Ohio, in 1831, and died in 1885. 

While still a lad George W. Read came 
to Logan county. In his native state he had 
attended the district schools, but he was 



early obliged to use his own exertions to 
gain a livelihood. Honest, industrious and 
pleasant in manner, he soon made friends, 
secured farm work, and in the course of 
time became the owner of one hundred and 
sixty acres of land, in DeWitt countv, and 
two hundred and forty acres in Broadwell 
township, Logan county, both of which he 
improved. Six children were born to his 
first marriage, these being: Mattie, now 
deceased, was the wife of John B. Hum- 
phrey, and left four children ; John T. is our 
subject ; Nancy is the wife of A. J. McGee, 
of Broadwell : Elery \\'. is station agent at 
Broadwell; Alary E. is the wife of J. B. 
Humphrey and lives in Midland City, De- 
W itt c( lunt}- : and George L. conducts 
the home farm. For a numl^er of years 
Air. Read was prominently identified with 
the various county offices and was the ef- 
ficient supervisor of Broadwell township, 
also assessor, and for a period acted as post- 
master. The mother of this family died on 
the farih. Since 1894 Mr. Read has lived 
a retired life in Lincoln, his second niarriage 
being with Airs. Alarie Fuller. Both Air. 
and Airs. Read are consistent members of 
the Christian church of Lincoln, in which 
he has always been an active and \'alued 
member. His connection with the school 
lioard resulted in many reforms in his dis- 
trict. During 1882-3 ^I'"- Read and his son 
were liea\'ily interested in the grain ship- 
ping business, to which he had gi\'en cpiite 
a great deal of previous attention. 

John T. Read, our subject, was reared 
on the farni and grew up in attendance on 
school and in assisting his father, until he 
was twenty years old. When the senior 
Air. Read began operations in grain buv- 
ing, his son remained to manage the farm. 
During 1882-3 father and son were part- 



364 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ners in the business and ^Mr. Read erected 
the hrst grain elevator in Broadwell town- 
ship, continuing in the grain business for 
six years, also doing much buying and ship- 
ping of stock. 

On Xovember 19, 1885, our subject was 
married to ^liss Huldali Sams, who was 
born in Logan county in 1867, and she is 
the daughter of John and ^Margaret Sams, 
the former of whom is deceased, and the 
latter makes her home in Springfield. The 
five surviving children of ^Ir. and ^Lts. 
Sams are as follows : Clara, who is the wife 
of \\'. H. Fields and lives in Lincoln; Xellie, 
who is the wife of T. W. Moore and lives 
in Mount Pulaski; Huldah, the wife of our 
subject; Lucy, who is the wife of X. Luth- 
ers, of Springfield; and Squire F., who lives 
in Springfield. ^Ir. Sams was a farmer and 
his children grew up on the farm, and were 
given the advantages of the common schools 
both in the country and in Lincoln. 

The children horn to our subject and 
his wife numbered seven, one of whom died 
in infancy. The others make an intelligent 
group of school children and Ijear the names 
of: Imogene, George L., John F., Harry 
G., Thomas H., and Hazel Lee. All of 
them promise to become intelligent and use- 
ful members of society, and worthily rep- 
resent the honored name they bear. 

The year of his marriage ^Ir. Read pur- 
chased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, partly improved, paying for this forty- 
five dollars an acre. This has been the fam- 
ily home, and now consists of three hun- 
dred and fifty acres in Broadwell township. 
The property has been well managed and 
immensely improved, and to the cultivation 
of this large tract Mr. Read has given his 
personal attention, the result being that he 
is now the owner of one of the best farms 
in Logan county. 



For twehe years our subject has shown 
his interest in school matters b\- acting as a 
director. His religious membership is with 
the Christian church, while fraternally he 
is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Lincoln, 
Xo. 204: and also of ' the ^l. W. A., of 
Broadwell, Camp 5750, in which he has 
passed the chairs and is one of the direc- 
tors. His tastes have never led him to desire 
political office of any kind, but he is one 
of the most popular and highly esteemed 
citizens of his localitv. 



JAMES IRA JUDY. 

James Ira Judy, Avhose life history is 
replete with good deeds and honorable ac- 
tions, is numbered, among the valued and 
representative citizens of Emden, where he 
is now serving as justice of the peace and 
jiolice magistrate, having put aside the 
more arduous duties of an active business 
career. He belongs to a prominent old 
family of Logan county, and was born in 
Tazewell county, Illinois, in 1832. His 
parents were Daniel H. and Caroline ( Sini- 
ington ) Judy, the former a native of Greene 
county, Ohio, while the latter was born in 
Pennsylvania. The father's birth occur- 
red January 8, 1808, and in the place of 
his nativity he spent his youth and early 
manhood. He was a blacksmith by trade 
and a master workinan in iron, and those 
pursuits claimed his attention at his Ohio 
home until 1829, when he emigrated w-est- 
ward. settling in Tazewell county, Illinois, 
where he engaged in merchandising for a 
few years. He then came to Logan county, 
locating in Eminence township, which, how- 
ever, was at that time a part of Tazewell 
county. Subsequently, in 1857, he took up- 




J. I. JUDY. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



367 



his abode in Atlanta, where he carried on 
blacksniithing' fur a sliort time, then put 
aside Inisiness cares for several years, Ijut, 
resuming farm work, he again located on 
his land three miles west of Atlanta, where 
lie remained until his death, which occurred 
XL>veml)er 16, 1897. Thus the cunmiunity 
lost one of its honored pioneers and valued 
citi:-;ens — a man whose labors had been of 
benefit in the upliuilding of the county and 
who throughout life was honored for his 
fidelity to high ])rinciples. The mother of 
our subject died in the village of [Macki- 



naw. Tazewell county, in 183^ 



She was 



the first wife of Daniel Judy, who was three 
times married. Our subject was their only 
child. The second wife bore the maiden 
name of Elizabeth hawing, and after her 
death Mr. Judy wedded Lydia -\. Cox, who 
died in i87(). There were no children by 
the third marriage, but six were l)orn of the 
second union, namelv : Mary Ann, wife of 
Hiram Moorehead, of Atlanta; Xancy El- 
len, wife of ]\I. P. Carlock, of Blooming- 
ton, Illin(.>is ; Jennie, who married J. B. 
Currw a scIkjoI teacher and farmer living 
near Atlanta; John H., a merchant and life 
insurance agent, of Bloomington ; [Martin 
\\'., deceased; and William Eord, who died 
in childhood. 

During his early boyhood da}'s James 
I. Judy pursued his education in the public 
schools of Eminence township, where he 
also worked in the fields through the sum- 
mer months. In 1853 he went io Cali- 
fornia, l)ut after remaining upon the Pa- 
cific coast for a year he returned to Illinois, 
settling in Atlanta, where he carried un 
general merchandising for one }-ear. 
He was there married in 1855. and for a 
short time continued to conduct his store, 
but soon remo^•ed to a farm at Boynton. 

Tazewell countv, which he had inherited 
20 



from his father. liis family resided there, 
while he de\oted much of his time to 
preaching the gos])el as a minister of the 
Christian church. He serxed his denomi- 
nation at Bo}'nton and in other places of 
Tazewell and Logan counties, and also did 
evangelical work throughout Illinois and 
Missouri for a period of thirty years. His 
influence was of no restricted order, and the 
grijwth of the church was largely promoted 
through his untiring efforts in behalf of 
Christianity as taught by the early disciples. 
In 189 J he took up his abode in Emden.. 
where he has since li\'eil, and, aside from 
his duties as justice of the peace and police 
magistrate, he is still cjuite actively engaged 
in church work. He has a nice ofiice, lo- 
cated on [Main street, and in administermg 
the la\\ is strictly fair and impartial, being 
biased by neither fear nor fa\-or. He still 
owns a farm of eight}- acres in Tazewell 
count}-, and the rental from this materially 
increases his income. He also owns most' 
of tlie Ijlock where his beautiful residence is 
located, in the northwest part of the \"illagc 
of Emden, known as [Malone addition, 
and is regarded as a leading and influential 
citi/;en of the town. 

In 1855 [Mr. Judy was united in the holy 
bonds of matrimou}- to [Miss Mary E. 
Campbell, of Kentucky, a daughter of G. 
B. and [Mary (Watson J Campbell, lioth of 
whom were natives of Kentuck}-. whence 
the}' remo\'ed westward in an early da\-, 
locating on a farm near Atlanta, where the\' 
spent the remainder of their days. Unto 
[Mr. and [Mrs. Judy ha\'e been born three 
children : Mary E., the widow of John P. 
[Malone. and a resident of Emden ; Charles 
A., who married Emma Cadwallader and 
resides in .\lda, Nebraska; and Daniel ^\'., 
who- died at the age of five years. In his 
political afifiliations Mr. Judy is a Republi- 



368 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



can. Eotli lie and liis wife liold member- 
sliip in tlie Christian church at Eniden and 
are active in its work, cmisistently lalooring 
for its advancement and growtli. Tlieir 
man\- excellencies of character have won 
them tlie highest regard, and the circle of 
their friends is almost co-extensive with the 
circle of their acquaintance. 



STEPHEN O. PRICE. 

One of the honored early settlers of 
Logan county is Stephen O. Price, who re- 
sides on section 34, East Lincoln township. 
On coming to the township in 1867 he lo- 
cated on a tract of gcjvernment land which 
his father had previously bought at one dol- 
lar and a quarter per acre. A native of Illi- 
nois, he was born near Athens, Menard 
ccuntv. January 24, 1847, and is a son of 
William and Mary (Gibbs) Price, both na- 
tives of Alaryland. The Price family is of 
Scotch origin and was founded in Baltimore 
at an early day. On the maternal side our 
subject is of English ancestry. Leaving 
Baltimore in 1838, the father of our subject 
came to Illinois with teams, Ijut w alked most 
of the way. He had received a good com- 
mon school education, but was in limited 
circumstances on his arrival in this state. 
In early life he followed the millwright's 
trade, but later engaged in farming and in 
that occupation met with good success, lie- 
coming quite well-to-do. In manner he was 
(|uiet and unassuming, and was dev(:)ted to 
his home and family. He was married in 
Athens. Illinois, to Miss Mary Gibbs, and 
to them were born nine children, of whom 
three died in early childhood. Those now 
living are Elizabeth, a resident of Farmer 
City ; John Thomas, of Lincoln ; Stephen 



O., of this rexdew ; ^lary, wife of Henry 
England, of Sangamon countv; Charles, of 
Farmer Citv : and George, a farmer near 
Farmer City. Fn 1887 the father removed 
to DeW'itt county, wliere he died May 13, 
iSq2, at the age of se\-enty-eiglit years. The 
mother died ^la}' 11, 1894, at the age of 
seventy years. 

During his bcnliood and youth Stei)hen 
O. Price worked on his father's farm 
through the summer season and attended the 
district schools of the neighborhood in win- 
ter. He was married in Springfield, January 
26, 1866, to Miss Ellen Cantrell, who was 
liorn in Sangamon countv, June 13, 1848, 
her jjarents being among its first settlers, as 
they located there in 181 8, coming from 
Kentuckv before there was a house in that 
city. Air. and Mrs. Price ha\e two children, 
namely: Emily, wife of Adolph Reed, of 
Bement, Illinois; William O., who is mar- 
ried and resides in Linc(jln, where he is em- 
ployed in a laundry. Both were educated in 
the district schools oi this county. 

When Mr. Price first came to Logan 
county his farm was raw prairie, without a 
tree or anything on it. He has transformed 
the place into one of the valuable farms of 
the count}- and is now among the older resi- 
dents of the township. Since 1899 he has 
had charge of the station on the Illinois 
Central Railroad known as Johnson's 
Switch, and is also agent for Spellman & 
Spitlex' in buxdng grain at that place. He 
has always enjoyed good health luUil recent 
years. His political support is always given 
the men and measures of the Republican 
])arty, but he has ne\-er sought office. He 
serx'ed. howe\'er. as school director for sev- 
eral ^'ears, and has ex'er taken a commenda- 
able interest in public affairs. Sociall\- he 
is a member of Lincoln Lodge, No. 204, I. 
O. O. F., and religiously both he and his 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



369 



wife hold membership in tlie Cliristian 
church. He is widely and favorably known 
tlirouglmut his section of the county, and 
justl}' merits the high regard in which lie 
is held. 



JACOB JUDY. 

^^'ithout a doubt Jacob Judy is the oldest 
living pioneer of this sectirtn of the state, 
for here he has made his home for over 
seventy-seven years. He has, therefore, 
witnessed its entire development ; has seen 
its wild lands transformed into beautiful 
homes and farms: has seen villages and 
cities spring up and all of the interests and 
evidences of an advanced civilization intro- 
duced. In the work of progress he has 
borne his part and has been particularly 
active as a representative of the agricultural 
interests of the cinumunity. 

]\Ir. Jud\' was born on the 9th of Janu- 
ary, 1804. in Greene county, Ohio, and is a 
son of Jacob and Xancy (Hatfield) Judy. 
The father was a \'irginian by birth, but 
was the only one of a family of ten children 
Ijorn in this countrv, Germany being the 
birthplace of the others. iMartin Judy, the 
; grandfather of our subject, was also a na- 
tive of German}' and a farmer by occupa- 
tion. Our subject's father also made farm- 
ing his life wiirk. In his family were 
twelve children, of whom six are still liv- 
ing, namely: Xancy, Betsey, Martin, John, 
Jacob and ^^'inepart. 

Jacob Judy, of this re\iew, passed his 
boyhood and youth on his father's farm in 
the Buckeye state and received his educa- 
tion in the subscription schools of those 
early days. .\t the age of twent\- he came 
to Illinois, and located in Tazewell countv, 
where he made his home until 1862, when he 



remo\-ed to Logan county. He followed 
farming tpiite successfully until extreme old- 
age compelled his retirement, and he is now- 
spending his declining years in the city of 
Atlanta in the companionship of his estim- 
able wife and family, as well as a host of 
friends. Besides his farm property he owns 
many lots in that place. 

^Ir. Judy has been twice married, his 
first wife being ]Miss ]\Iary A. Musick, a 
daughter of Robert Alusick, who was ;: 
farmer of Logan county in years gone by, 
and to them were born eleven children, 
namely: Sallie, deceased: X'ancv Tane ; 
Robert: Eliza: Lucinda : Henry: John, de- 
ceased : Annie : Hettie, deceased ; Alarv, de- 
ceased; and Mattie. This marriage was 
celebrated April 3, 1829, in Sugar Creek, 
and proved a happy union. ]\Irs. Judv died 
on the 9th of December, 1885. For over 
half a century she was a consistent and faith- 
ful member of the Christian church, liaving 
united with the same the year of her mar- 
riage. Mr. Judy was again married, in 
1887, to Mrs. Mary .\. (Bruner) Hawes, 
a daughter of David and Xancy ( Hauser) 
Bruner, of Kentucky. Henry Jud\-, son of 
our subject, was a soldier of the Ci\il war. 

In politics Mr. Judy is now a Republi- 
can. He cast his first presidential ballot 
for J(jhn Ouincy Adams, and has \-oted at 
twenty presidential elections. On the or- 
ganization of the Old Settlers' Association 
he had the honor of being chosen jjresident, 
and held that otilice until ad\-ancing years 
necessitated his retirement. Few men in 
Illinois, if not in the United States, have 
the distinction, as he has, of being one of 
five living generations and the honor of 
being the grandfather of one hundred and 
seventeen grandchildren and great-grand- 
children. He an<l his fannly are identified 
with the. Christian church, and he is one of 



370 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the most conscientious and reliable citizens 
of Logan county. He has always had the 
respect and entire contidence of all with 
whom he has been brought in contact, either 
in business or social life, and no man of 
the comnumity is held in higher regard. At 
the age of ninety-six he hat! the misfortune 
to lose his sight in a surgical operation while 
removing a cataract from his eye. He can 
relate many interesting reminiscences of 
earlv day^ in this locality, and on her roll 
of honored pioneers his name should be 
among the foremost. 



JOHX F. JECKEL. 

.Vmmig the prosperous farmers of Or- 
vil township, Logan county, Illinois, is John 
F. Jeckel, who resides on section 33 and has 
lived in this county fur the past twelve years. 
He was born in Brown county, Ohio, De- 
cember 3, 1862, and is a son of Peter and 
Johanna (Lobengaener) Jeckel, both na- 
tives of Germany. The mutlier was bi.n-n 
in 1836 and came to America at the age of 
sixteen. The father came to this country 
in 1852 and settled in Brown county, Ohio, 
where he engaged in farming for several 
years. He then moved to Pendleton coun- 
tv, Kentuck}-, and piu-chased a farm, where 
thev both now reside.. The father is now 
seventv-five years of age and on account of 
his advanced age he has retired from active 
business life and rents all his property. The 
parents of our subject had fixe children, 
namely: Barbara, wife of \'alentine 
Schaufenb^rger, of Pendleton comity, Ken- 
tuckv : John F. : .\nnic, wife of Peter Casli- 
liaum. lit Cincinnati, Ohin: George, a farm- 
er, of Tazewell county, Illinois, and Mary, 
who died at the age of twenty-two. All were 



well educated in the common schools of the 
localities in which they lived during child- 
hood. 

After being educated our suliject came 
west and settled in Tazewell county, Illinois. 
Being in poor circumstances, he worked 
upon \ariiius farms as a laborer, but sa\ed 
all his money, and 1889 removed to Logan 
count}-, Illinois, where he settled upon his 
present farm in Or\il township, known as 
the old Betzelberger place, consisting of 
eighty acres on sectic^n 33. He also owns 
fortv acres adjoining, which lie over the 
C(umtv line in Tazewell county. On his 
propertv ]\lr. Jeckel carries on general farm- 
ing, and has been \ery successful, his wide 
knowledge of all the details of his calling 
proving of great value in the management 
of his interests. A comfortable and motl- 

ern residence shelters his pleasant faniilv. 

• • "I 

'i'he barn and other outbuddings are com- » 

niodious. -Vll of the fences are in most ex- 
cellent condition and all modern appliances 
and machinery are used in the conduct of the 
farming operations. Such excellent meth- ' 
ikIs cannot help but result in success, and 
Mr. Jeckel is rewarded for his years of hard 
labor bv now being tlie possessor of one of 
the most fertile and well-cultivated farms 
in Logan county. On July 28, 1901. his 
barn was struck liy lightning and entirely, 
destroyed, together with its contents and a 
iw()-thous;uid dollar Perchenin stallion, the 
loss being al)out four thousand si.x hundred 
dollars. 

On January i, i88g, Mr. Jeckel was 
married to ]\Iiss Elizabeth Betzelberger, a 
nati\e of Logan count}-, born in 1864, and 
a daughter of Godfrey and Mary Betzel- 
berger, ]\lr. and ]\Irs. Betzelberger were 
earlv settlers in this county, and located 
u]ion the farm where Harm Klokkenga now 
resides. Here they passed the remainder of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



371 



their lives, the fatlier dying September 2^. 
1887. and tiie niotiier January 4, 1888. The 
wife of our sul)ject died on April 2^. 1895. 
having liorne her luisliand three children, 
namely: -\rthur, deceased; Mabel, born on 
January 4. 1891, at home: and i\Iary, born 
October 24. 189.2. at home. 

Mr. Jeckel chose for his second wife the 
sister of the first ^Irs. Jeckel, Miss Mary 
Betzelberger, who was born in 1870, a most 
charming and accomplished lady. I!y hi.'? 
sectjnd marriage, which was celebrateil on 
Se])tember 16. 1896. Mr. Jeckel has had 
three children, namely : .\rchie. born De- 
cember 22. 1897; Johnnie, born September 
2j. i8c)9: and Harold, born April 8. 1901, 
all very interesting little ones, who occupy 
a very warm place in the hearts of the en- 
tire famil}-. 

In her beautiful home Mrs. Jeckel ex- 
ercises the most powerful influence there is. 
that of wife and mother, and while she is 
making her husbantl happy and comfortal)le 
she is rearing to useful lives the little ones 
ci>mmitted to her care. In tlieir after lives 
they will demonstrate the effect of her kind, 
gentle and wise go\ernment and ele\ating 
instruction, and look back to call her blessed. 

]Mr. Jeckel has been honored by his fel- 
low townsmen in being elected to fill several 
' if the offices of the township, the duties of 
which he has alwavs discharged in a man- 
ner highly creditable to himself and his con- 
stituents as well as beneficial to the com- 
munity at large. Since he cast his first 
vote Mr. Jeckel has always supported the 
principles and candidates of the Republican 
party, and is regarded as one of the rising 
young men of the township, who is destined 
to greater things in the future. 

Religiously he is a member of the Ger- 
man Lutheran churcli of Emden. while his 
wife is a member of the Christian church 



of the same \illage, and both are \ery active 
in church work, giving both time and money 
to the support of religious institutions and 
operations. They are highly respected and 
esteemed in both church and social circles, 
and their home is a pleasant gathering place 
for friends, who enjoy the genial hospital- 
it v shown Uj all who enter the gates of the 
Teckel estate. 



\\ILLIAM H. B. COOK. 

^\'illianl H. B. Cook is one of that \'ast 
multitude now so rapidly passing to the 
great beyond, who. when theif coiuitry 
called them to free a nation from bondage, 
did not deem their lives too great a sacri- 
fice. 

"So nigh is grandeur to our dust. 

So near is God to man. 
When duty whispers low, 'Thou must,' 

The youth replies. T can." " 

William H. B. Cook, of Atlanta. Logan 
county, is one of a family of four children 
born to Aaron and Eliza C. (Small) Cook. 
.\aron Cook was a native of Maryland. On 
attaining manhood he entered the jjulpit and 
followed the ministry the greater part of his 
life, a credit to his native state till his death. 

The subject of this sketch was born in 
Maryland, February 3. 1842. In 1853 he 
moved to Logan county. Illinois, and at- 
tended the first school of Atlanta, receiving 
a good education there. \\"hen in his early 
teens he began working on a farm by the 
month, which he continued to do for six 
\ears until he entered the army. In 1862 
he enlisted in the defense of the stars and 
stripes as a member of Company A, One 



372 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Hundred and Se\-enteenth Illinois Volun- 
teer Infantry. He fought in the battles of 
Nashville. Red River, Louisiana, and Hel- 
ena, Arkansas, and took part in the capture 
of Vicksburg. He served throughout the 
entire war and was honorably discharged in 
1865. 

In the spring of 1866 ]Mr. Cook engaged 
in farming in Mt. Hope township, McLean 
count)-, Illiniiis, on a farm of two hundred 
and t(irt\' acres, where he resided till i8(-)C), 
with the excoptinn of twn years spent in 
Vermilion county, Illinois. Then he estab- 
lished himself in the butcher's business in 
Atlanta. Ha\-ing only one competitor, Mr. 
Cook purchased his shop and conducted both 
meat markets, doing an extensive business 
in his line of trade up to August 20, 1901, 
when he sold nut. 

j\Ir. Cook was united in marriage, Oc- 
tober t6, 1865. with Miss Mary E. Bord- 
well, the accomplished daughter of Thomas 
Bordwell, who was a Xew Yorker by birth. 
Their union has been l)lessed with five chil- 
dren : Ernest E. : Clara G. ; Laura ; Winnie ; 
and Harriet, the eldest, who died when three 
years of age. !Mr. Cook and his family are 
members of the Methodist church. In poli- 
tics he is an uncompromising su]iporter of 
the Republican party. He is an lumored 
member of the (jrand Army of the Repub- 
lic and a man who is pr(iminent in the busi- 
ness, political, social and religious affairs of 
his comnumitv. 



PAUL S. FUSON. 



One of the most prominent and success- 
ful young business men of Lincoln is Paul 
S. Fuson, the present efficient secretary of 
the Lincoln Savings and Building Associ- 



ation. A native of Illinois, he was born in 
Champaign, Champaign county, on the 8th 
of I\Iay, 1876. His parents, Elias and 
Sarah ( Stanage) Fuson, were natives of 
\'irginia, and from that state remo\-cd to 
Ohio. In 1864 they came to Illinois, anil 
settled in Champaign county, where the 
father followed agricultural pursuits until 
his death, which occurred in 1876. The 
luother died in Champaign in 1893. 

The earlv education of our subject was 
ac(|uired in the public schools. Subse- 
quently he attended Lincoln Uni\-ersit\' twi> ' 
terms, and then pursued a commercial : 
course at the Lincoln Business College. j 
After leaving school he accepted a position t 
as assistant clerk in the office of John S. 
Haller, then secretary of the Lincoln Sav- 
ings & Building Association. It was not 
long before lie thoroughlv mastered the busi- 
ness of the ofTfice, and in March, 1899, was 
appointed secretary, which responsible posi- 
tion he is -^till lining in a most cajiable and 
satisfactory manner. This association was ^ 
formed in 1883, the present otlicials being: 
J. B. Paisley, president; William Hunger- 
ford, vice-president; Thomas H. Stokes, 
treasurer; and Paul S. Fuson .secretar_\-. 
They commenced business in June of that 
}ear and ha\-e since been in successtul opera- 
tion, making loans in Lincoln and adjoining- 
towns. This is one of the safest and most 
conser\-ati\e corporations of the kind in the 
state, and has matured nineteen series. Air. 
Fuson assisted in organizing the Harts 
Medicine Company in November, 1900, and 
is now serving as its president. It is doing 
a successful business here. He is a wide- 
awake, energetic young business man, and 
will undoubtedly meet with excellent suc- 
cess in life. 

In May, 1900, Mr. Fuson was united in 
marriage w ith Miss Alary Kenyon. a daugh- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



375 



tcr of Thomas W. Kenyon, of Lincoln. So- 
cially our subject is a member of Logan 
Lodge, Xo. 2IO. .\. F. & A. M. ; Lincoln 
Chapter. R. A. "SI. : and Constantine Com- 
mandery, K. T., Xo. 51: and politically is 
a stanch supporter of the Republican party. 
He has been elected to the city council from 
the third ward, although it is Demiicratic. 
and has taken cjuile an acti\e and commentl- 
able interest in public affairs. 



C.\RL r.. BEKEMEYER, LL. B. 

Prominent among the young and enter- 
prising citizens of ]\It. Pula.ski is numbered 
Carl B. Bekemeyer, who is now so credital)ly 
ser\"ing as city attorney and ti iwn clerk. He 
I was born in Springfield. Illinois, on the 4th 
f)f August. 1870, and is a son of \Mlliam B. 
and Amelia ( Schwarberg) Bekemeyer. who 
were natives of Germany and came tn the 
United States in 1849. The mother died 
in 1884, but the father is still living, and 
continues to make his home in Springfield, 
where he is engaged in mercantile business. 
Our subject passed his boyhood and 
yiuith in the Capital City, and in 1886 en- 
tered Carthage College, where he was grad- 
uated in 1892. He next took a course in 
the law department at the L^niversity of 
^lichigan, ,\nn Arbor, and was graduated 
there in 1894, with the degree of LL. B. 
The following year was spent in the office 
I if Hnn. John ]\I. Palmer, at Springfield, 
and he was then with the firm of Conkling 
& Grout, prominent attornevs of that citv. 
for the same length of time. Forming a 
jiartnership with Charles .\. Keyes, master 
in chancery, he was engaged in the ])ractice 
of his chosen profession in Springfield for 
six months. At the end of that time Air. 



Bekemeyer came to Alt. Pulaski, and suc- 
ceeded to the business, of A. G. Jones, and 
old attorney of that place, who had recently 
died. He is a close and thorough student 
and lias already met with excellent success 
in his profession, ha\ing built up quite a 
large practice. His fellow citizens, recog- 
nizing his ability, have twice elected him citv 
attorney of Alt, Pulaski, and he is also serv- 
ing his third term as town clerk, to their 
entire satisfaction. Socially he is a menil>er 
of Alt. Pulaski Lodge, Xo. 154. I. O. O. F., 
and the Royal Circle. On February 6, 
1896, he was united in marriage with Aliss 
Leah Betts. of Keokuk. Iowa, a daughter of 
Elijah and Lula ( Spangler) Betts. Air. 
Bekcmever has a pleasant home in the resi- 
dent di.strict in tJie north part of the city. 



CLAREXCE K. BLACK. 

Clarence K. Black, the well-known and 
popular agent of the Illinois Central Rail- 
road Company on the Peoria division at 
Lincoln, Illinois, claims Ohio as his native 
state, his birth ]ia\'ing occurred in Alorrow 
county on the 8th of Januarw 1852. His 
parents. John K. and Alary X. ( Xobie) 
Black, were also natives of the Buckeye 
state. His paternal grandfather, Daniel 
Black, came to the new world from Ireland 
in his eighteenth year, and married a Aliss 
Gardner, a native of Pennsylvania. The 
maternal grandfather, James X'olile, was a 
native of ^\'ashing■ton county, Ohio, and a 
farmer Ijy occupation. He wedded Aliss 
Alary Cook. 

During lioyhood Clarence K. Black ac- 
companied his parents on their removal to 
Harrison county, Ohio, and there attended 
the connnon scliools until 1869, when he 



374 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



came tn Tazewell county, Illinois, and pur- 
sued his studies in the public schools there 
for a time. In 1874 he entered the employ 
of the Pekin, Lincciln & Decatur Railmad 
at Lincoln, and the following year went to 
Kirksville. Missouri, in the employ of the 
A\'abash Railroad. In 1876 he returned to 
Lincoln, and has since Iieen cimnected with 
the lllintiis Central Railroad, efficiently serv- 
ing as its agent at this place. During the 
quarter of a century that has passed since 
he entered the serxice many important 
clianges have been made in the road, and it 
is to-dav one of the leading railroads of the 
west. 

Air. Black was married in 1880 to Aliss 
Ollie Cox,_ of Lincoln, who is a nati\-e of 
Illinois and a daugliter of ]\Irs. Ellen Cox. 
Tliex' have a pleasant home on Xorth Kicka- 
poo street. In his political affiliations Air. 
Black is a stanch Republican, and in his 
social relations is a member of Alt. Pulaski 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M.\ the Chapter, R. A. 
Al.: and Alt. Pulaski Commandery, Xo. 39, 
K. T. In business be is prompt, obliging 
and courteous, and is not only held in high 
esteem by the people of Lincoln hut is a 
favorite with the traveling pulilic. 



LABAX HOBLIT. 



Pr<;inhnent among the successful and 
prosperous farmers of Atlanta township is 
Laban Hoblit, who is a native of Logan 
county, and is a rejM-esentative of one of its 
honored pioneer families, being a son of 
Lewis AI. and Evelyn (Haughey) Hoblit. 
His paternal grandparents were Samuel and 
Abigail (Downey) i loblit, both now de- 
ceased. They were among the first settlers 
of Atlanta townshi]x coming here from 



Ohio in the winter- of 1830-31, which was 
the memorable winter of the deep snow. The 
father of our subject was born here. Alarch 
1 I, 183 1, and was the second son of his par- 
ents. He obtained his education in the coun- 
trv schools of the township, and after reach- 
ing man's estate devoted his entire time and 
attention to agricultural pursuits, in which 
occupation he met with marked success, be- 
coming one of the well-to-do farmers of his 
community. He was an up-to-date farmer, 
and at the lime of his death owned three 
hundred and forty acres of fine land. He 
was twice married, his first wife being Aliss 
E\-elyn Haughe_\', of AIcLean county, Illi- 
nois, who was born in Ohio, and died in 
1875. The five children b<irn of that union 
were Sylvanus, Josephine, Isabel, Abigail 
and Laban. For bis seconil wife the father 
wedded Airs. Alary (X'ewman) Patchiii. He 
was an e.xtensive stockholder in the original 
Atlanta Bank, now the Atlanta X^ational 
Bank, and was a Repulilican in his political 
views. 

Laban Hoblit, of this re\"iew, was born 
August 2g, 1854., and is the second of the 
five children born of his father's first mar- 
riage. He pursued his studies in the dis- 
trict school within a stone's throw of his pres- 
ent Illume, having been reared on the farm 
where be now resides. It comprises three 
hundred and ninety-five acres of choice land, 
which is under a high state of cultivation 
and is well impro\-ed with good and sul)- 
stantial buildings, including a fine brick resi- 
dence and barn to corresiiond. Since start- 
ing out in life for himself he has followed 
farming with good success, and is to-day one 
of the most extensive and successful agricul- 
turists of Atlanta township, iiaving control 
of five hundred and eighty acres of good 
land. Also ninety acres of fine timber land. 

In 1887 Air. Hoblit married Aliss Emma 




LEWIS M. HOBLIT. 




LABAN HOBLIT. 



I 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



377 



Adams, the accomplished daughter of James 
R. Adams, who belonged to one of Tennes- 
see's first families. 'Sirs. Hoblit died March 
30, 1900, leaving one child. Dean Adams. 
;Mr. Hoblit has never taken a very active 
part in public affairs, preferring to devote 
his undivided attention to his business inter- 
ests. He is a wide-awake, progressive busi- 
ness man of known reliability, and generally 
carries forward to successful completion 
whatever he undertakes. In his political 
views he is a stanch Republican, but has 
never cared for political honors. 



LIXDSEY ZOLLARS. 

Among the worthy citizens of Logan 
county who responded to their country's 
' call for aid during the dark days of the Re- 
bellion was the gentleman whose name in- 
troduces this sketch. With exception of 
. .ne year spent in Tazewell county and tliree 
m the service of his country, he has been a 
resident of this county since 1854. and is 
now successfully engaged in farming on 
section 25. East Lincoln township. 

Mr. Zollars was born in Harrison coun- 
ty. Ohio, on the 3d of April. 1843, ^"fl i* ^ 
son of Stephen and Temperance ( Spind- 
ler) Zollars, natives of Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania respectively. Both came fr(im a long- 
lived race, and were of German descent. 
Our subject's paternal great-grandfather, 
David Zollars. was the first of the family to 
come to America. He fought under Gen- 
eral A\'ashington in the Revolutionary war, 
and on account of his nationality was sent 
among the Hessians to treat with them. On 
first coming to Illinois. Stephen Zollars. the 
father of our su])ject. spent a short time in 
^IcLean county, and in 1854 took up his 



residence in Logan county, where he made 
his home until death. He purchased one 
hundred and sixty acres of partially im- 
proved land in Atlanta township, and to its 
further development and cultixation devoted 
liis attention until 1868, when he remo\-ed 
to East Lincoln township and impro\ed a 
farm there, making it his home until called 
to his final rest, in 1887, at the age of sev- 
enty-six years. His wife, who was born in 
1812. died in December. 1893. at the age 
of eighty-one. They were well-educated 
people and became quite well-to-do. In 
politics the father was a strong Republican, 
and held local offices in his township. 

L'nto this worthy couple were born five 
children, but the only daughter died in in- 
fancy. The sons all grew to manhood, and 
are as follows : Damascus ser\ed three 
years in the Civil war as a member of Com- 
pany F, One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry. After residing in Lo- 
gan county for many years he removed to 
South Dakota in 1881, and there died in 
1897. John C. owns and operates a well- 
improved farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres in Oran township, this county. \\ es- 
ley was also one of the boys in blue during 
the Civil war, serving three years as a mem- 
1)er of Company F. Thirty-eighth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry. He made his home in 
Logan county until 1877. when he went to 
the Pacific coast, and is now in the National 
Soldiers' Home at Seattle. \\'ashington. 
Lindsey completes the family. 

The subject of this sketch was a lad of 
eleven years when the family came to Logan 
county, and his education was principally ' 
acquired in its district schools. He re- 
mained at home, aiding his father in the 
work of the farm, until August. 1862. when 
he enlisted in Company F. One Hundred 
and Sixth Illinois Volunteer Tnfantrv. un- 



378 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



der Colonel R. B. Latham, of Lincoln, and 
remained in the service nntil the close of the 
\var. During the battle nl ]\larks Mills, 
Arkansas, lie was taken prisoner and con- 
fined in Tyler j^rison. Texas, for a year, 
being released on the cessation of hostilities. 

Mr. Zollars then returned home antl to<jk 
charge of the farm, as his father was get- 
ting old, and lie remained with his parents 
as long as lhe\' lived, .\fter the death of 
the father he ])urchased the interests of the 
other heirs in the home place, and now has 
two hundred and sixt\- acres of valuable 
farm land imder a high state of culti\ation. 
One hundred and si.\ty-fi\e acres of this is 
in Oran township, and the remainder in 
East Lincoln township, where he makes his 
home. He has met with gond success in 
his farming operations. 

In 1872 'Sh. Zollars married ]\Iiss Lucy 
Dunham, who was born in Ohio in 1851. 
but was reared and educated in Logan coun- 
ty, Illinois. By this unicm were born two 
sous, namelv: Charles V.. who was killed 
in a runaway accident while attending Lin- 
cciln L'ni\crsity, at the age of se\'euteen 
years; and Frederick S., who was born in 
1879, and is now in North Dakota. The 
wife and mother died at her home in East 
Lincoln townshii) in 1881, and in Xovem- 
her, T887, ^Ir. Znllars was .again married, 
his second luiinii beii'.g with Mrs. Ella J- 
Wodetzski. nee McCue, widow of John 
\\lodetzski. She was educated in Sanga- 
mon county, this state, and taught school 
in Logan county for over se\en years. Five 
children lilessed the second marriage of our 
subject, but one died in infancy. Those 
living are Mabel C Donald P.. George D. 
and Edward L. 

^Religiously Mr. Zollars is an active 
member of the Christian church of Lincoln, 
and is now serving as one of its trustees. 



He is also a member of Leo W. Myers Post, 
Xo. 182. G. A. R.. of that ])lace. while his 
son. I'retl S.. is lieutenant in the Sons ol 
\'eterans Camp. The Republican party has 
always found in Air. Zollars a stanch sup- 
porter of its principles, and he has ca])ably 
tilled the offices of school trustee and direc- 
tor. Progressi\-e and public-spirited, he 
takes a deep and commendable interest in 
public aifairs, and gives his support tn all 
nieasiu'es which he beliexes will advance the 
moral, educational or material welfare of his 
to.wnship and county, and is justly regarded 
as one of the most valued citizens of the 
comnuuiitv in which he lives. 



AIRS. RACHEL A. POTTS. 

Airs. Rachel A. Potts. wid<nv of David 
Potts and an honored resident of .\tlanta. 
was born in Ohio, in 1835, and is one of a 
familv of seven children, whose parents 
were Thomas and Eliza ( Jtihnstou) Xelson. 
Her father was born in Pennsylvania, March 
23, 1809, and in j8i6 accompanied his par- 
ents on their removal to Alouroe cc)unty, 
Ohio, where he grew to manhood upon a 
farm, receiving a good country school edu- 
cation. Throughout his active business life 
he successfully engaged in agricultural jiur- 
suits, and becaiue cpiite well-to-do. He 
was a devout member of the Presbyterian 
church, in which he served as ruling elder, 
and al-ways took an active and influential 
part in all church work. He died on the 
30th of March, 1881. honored and respected 
by all who knew him. Airs. Potts was a 
mere child at the time of her mnther's death. 

Airs. Potts first gave her hand in mar- 
riage to William Simerall. wlm was Ijurn in 
\'irginia, February 21, 1824, and was reared-' 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



379 



to agricultural pursuits, while his literary 
education was obtained in the common 
schools. His parents were Samuel and 
Katherine (Van Horn) Simerall. The 
children born to William and Rachel A. 
(Xelson) Simerall were John S., Johnson 
O.. Thomas C, Cymantha INIay, Xanna A., 
Sadie A. and William ^^. all <if whom are 
Tiow deceased with the exception of Sadie 
A., who is the wife of Andrew Shipley, an 
extensive farmer of Nebraska. The father 
• if this family was a stanch Republican in 
])nlitics and was a faithful member of the 
Methodist church, to which his wife and 
children also Ijelonged. He cummanded 
the respect and esteem of the entire com- 
munity in which he lived, and his death, 
which occurred in Monroe county, Ohio, was 
vvidelv mourned. 

]Mrs. Simerall was again married, June 
1 8, 1873, her second husband being David 
Potts, a prosperous and successful farmer of 
Atlanta township. He was born in \'ir- 
ginia. and was a son of Samuel and Aberilla 
(Gadd) Potts. He died July 23, 1891. 
leaving to his widow a good farm of sixty 
acres on section 21, Atlanta township. Be- 
sides that place she owns city property in 
Atlanta, where she has a cozy home, and 
where, surrounded by her many friends, she 
expects to spend her declining years. 



RICHARD W. RIGG, M. D. 

Dr. Richard W. Rigg. a successful and 
prominent physician and surgeon of ^^It. 
Pulaski, Illinois, is a native of this state, his 
birth having occurred in Mt. Sterling, 
Brown county, August 5, 1856. His an- 
cestors were among the pioneers of Ken- 
tucky, his paternal grandfather. Richard 



Rigg, being a native of that state and a 
farmer of Clarion county. He married 
Miss Margaret Louderbach and with his 
family removed from Kentucky to Brown 
county, Illinois, in 1837. James X. Rigg, 
the Doctor's father, was born in ]\Iarion 
county, Kentucky, in 1825, and was twelve 
years of age on the removal of the family to 
this state. For thirty-seven years he carried 
on business as a merchant in one building 
in Camden. Schuyler county. Illinois, but is 
now living a retired life at Mt. Pvdaski. In 
early life he married Miss Emily J. \\'atts. 
who was born in Madison coimty. Ken- 
tucky, in 1837, and alsu came to Illinois in 
1837 with her parents. Willis and Amanda 
(Simmons) \\'atts. After a short time 
spent in Brown county this family removed 
to Schu}ler county, where they made a per- 
manent location, and where Mr. \\'atts was 
engaged in merchandising for many years. 
His daughter. Mrs. Rigg, is still living. 

Dr. Rigg accpiired his primary educa- 
tion in the public schools of this state, and 
later attended the State Xormal School at 
X'ormal, Illinois. For two years he was a 
student in the law department of the Iowa 
State University, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1 88 1, and on his admission to the 
bar was engaged in the practice of that pro- 
fession at Indianapolis. Indiana, for two 
\ears. He then took up the study of medi- 
cine with his uncle. Dr. B. P. ^^'atts, at 
Camden, Illinois, and later attended lec- 
tures at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons. Keokuk, Iowa, where he was gradu- 
ated in the spring of 1887, with the degree 
of M. D. In April of that year he came to 
Mt. Pulaski and opened an office for the 
practice of medicine. He has that love for 
and devotion to his profession which has 
brought to him success, and his skill and 
ability are attested by the liberal patronage 



38o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



which he receives. He is one of the ablest 
representatives of the medical fraternity in 
the county, and belongs to the State Medical 
Society. Sociallv he is also a member ui 
the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is a 
man honored and resjjected by all who know 
him. 

In 1884 Dr. Rigg was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ida Bank, of Fannington. 
Iowa, a daughter of William and Catherine 
( Heinberger) Bank, and by this union two 
■children have lieen born, namely : Harry 
Edward and lames Reucl. 



WALTER C, P.MXE. M. D. 

Xot only is Dr. Paine identified witli 
the most advanced medical researches and 
practice in New Holland, but he is as well a 
liberal-minded and progressi\e citizen, 
whose opininn upon all matters of i)ul)lic 
interest finds ready credence and following 
among all classes. His medical and surgi- 
cal skill have resulted in his services being 
in demand not only in Logan but in Mason, 
Tazewell and Menard counties, anil his ])ro- 
fessional responsibility was enlarged by his 
position as surgeon for the St. Louis. Peoria 
& Northern Railroad, which he .satisfac- 
torily filled for several years. In 1896, dur- 
ing President ]\IcKinley's administration, 
he was ai)pointed I'nited States examining 
surgeon for the pensioners of Logan county. 
AMiile a thorough student of medical lore, 
and ef(ually gifted as a surgeon and general 
];ractitioner, Dr. Paine is materially aided in 
his life work by a dominating humanity 
which permeates all of his undertakings and 
Ijv a ])rofound pride and faith in the best 
tenents of his great and noble profession. 
He has also a genial tem]ierament and ready 



wit which is often substituted for plasters 
and physic with remarkable results, and 
which is deftly ajjplied to the lifting of 
mental oppressi(.)n and its calaniatojis fol- 
lowing. 

.\ nati\e of Fanc_\- Prairie, .Menard 
county, Illinois. Dr. Paine was born August 
14, 1866, and was reared on his father's 
farm, receiving his preliminary education in 
the country schools. The Paine family 
comes originally from England, and in Lon- 
don was born James \\'. Paine, the Doctor's 
father, wIkj emigrated to .\merica with his 
parents when but two }'ears of age. Here 
he was reared to agricultural jjursuits, and 
assisted in his efforts at making a livelihood 
by a common school education, eventually 
engaging in farming on his own responsi- 
liilitw His success in the eastern state was 
Continued after his removal to Illinois, in 
i860. He is now li\-ing on the old home- 
stead in Menard county. He married Mary 
Washburn, who reared a familv of children, 
of whom three are living. Dr. Paine being 
the oldest. She died in .\pril, 1897. 

\\ bile vet a }'outh Dr. Paine de\'elopeil 
ambitious tendencies which sought a held of 
activity beyond the borders of his father's 
farm and found vent in the profession of 
medicine. Previousl}' he had passed the 
teacher's examination and engaged in edu- 
cational work in his immediate neighbor- 
hood, and as time went on he em])loyed such 
leisure as came his way in pre])aring for 
more advanced medical researches. His 
chief friend and adviser in this crisis was 
Dr. T. C. Hill, of Sweet Water. Illinois, un- 
der whose tutelage he remained until 1891, 
when he entered Rush ^Medical College, of 
Chicago. Illinois, and was graduated there- 
from with honor in 1895. During his col- 
lege life he devoted particular attention to 
the diseases of women and children, and 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



38r 



after graduation took a special course in this 
line of \\ori<. In July of 1895 '''^ located in^ 
New Holland and was for a time associated 
in practice with Dr. Stults, or until June, 
1898. when he hranched out into independ- 
ent practice. The Doctor is identified with 
all that has a tendency to uphuild his adopted 
town, although he has never desired or ac- 
cepted other political office than is connected 
with his profession. Fraternally he is affili- 
ated w ith the Masons, the Knights of Pyth- 
ias, the Woodmen, the Court of Honor and 
the Fraternal Crystal Lights. 

Surrounded by hosts of friends and well 
wishers, the Doctor lives in his hospitable 
and cozy home in Xew Holland, the genius 
of his fireside, his wife and helpmate. ha\-ing 
lieen before her marriage Florence AI. 
Plunger, ilaughter of Samuel ]\Iunger, of 
]\Iason county. The marriage occurred Oc- 
tober 28. 1897, ^'I'^l Mrs. Paine is one of the 
piipular and amialile wnmen of the town. 



JOHX B. McCORAlICK. 

One of the prominent and well-to-do 
fanners of Orvil township, living on sec- 
tion 33, is John B. AlcCormick, who has 
resided in Logan county since 1884. He is 
a native of Ouincy, Massachusetts, born on 
March 9. 1854, and is a smi of William and 
Martha ( Blaen) McCormick, biith of whom 
were natives of Scotland. 

The date of the father's birth was 1S.24. 
and after he was married, in 1847, 'i^ de- 
cided to come to America, his wife follow- 
ing in 1853. He first settled in Xew Jersey, 
where he lived a short time and then mo\-ed 
to Ouinc\', Massachusetts, where he worked 
at his trade of stone-cutter the balance of 
his life, and died in November, 1889. The 



mother died in June, 1898. Five children 
were born to them, namely: John B., our 
suliject; William A., a stone-cutter, who re- 
sides in Ouincy, Massachusetts ; Elizabeth, 
wdio resides in the same place ; James R., 
also a stone-cutter in Ouincy, ]\Iassachu- 
setts: Gene AI.. a bookkeeper, of Ouincy. 
.Ml of the children received a g'ood educa- 
tion in the high schools and best educati(jnal 
institutions in the east. 

Oiu' subject also learned the trade of 
stone-cutter and worked at it in his native 
town for fifteen years, during which time, 
in 1873, he married Miss I,da C. Corliss, of 
Ouincy. ^Massachusetts, who was born in 
1854, a daughter of Elijah and Lydia 
(Johnson) Corliss. Mr. Corliss was also 
a stone-cutter, and worked at his trade the 
greater portion of his life. Both he and his 
wife are deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. ]McCormick are the par- 
ents of five children, namely: Edward re- 
sides at liDme; Samuel E., who married 
Nellie I. Ward, resides in Peoria, Illinois, 
where lie is a traveling salesman : Cyrus J. 
is a bookkeeper in the Bank of Emden, at 
Emden, Illinois, and is a xevy prominent 
young man : Harrison B. and Nelson J. 
reside at home. 

.\fter marriage our subject worked at 
his trade in Ouincy, Massachusetts, until 
1884, when, on account of ill health, he and 
his famil}- came out west and first settled 
in Eminence township, this county, where 
he bought a farm and resided there seven 
years. He then sold out and came to Orvi! 
township and purchased his present liome. 
He now owns one hundred and sixty acres 
of fine farming land on section 23' where he 
carries on general farming. When nut en- 
gaged in fanning he works at his trade of 
stone-cutter. 

In politics he is a Republican, and was 



382 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ujwnship superx'isor of Orvil tuwnship for 
two years, in 1898 and 1899. Mr. Mc- 
Cormick is a wealthy, influential farmer, 
well liked by his neighbors and kind in his 
home. He resides in a fine house sup])lied 
-with modern con\'eniences. His farm 
shows the efifects (jf his careful manage- 
ment, and after a youth and early manhood 
of hard work he is now enjoying the fruit 
of his labors. 



CHARLES R. BOWLES. 

Charles R. Bowles, owner of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres of rich farming land 
on sections 2i3 ^"d 34- Orx'il township, has 
been a resident of Logan county all his life, 
having been born here on December 12, 
1856, and is a son of David Bowdes, a sketch 
of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. 

Our subject was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Or\il t(3wnshi]3 and assisted 
his father upon the farm until his marriage, 
in 1876, to Miss Annie Simpson, a daughter 
of \\'illiam W. Simpson, of Emden, whose 
sketch also appears in this volume. Mrs. 
Bowles died August 18, 1890, lea\-ing four 
children, namely: William, Lenora, Leroy 
Thomas and Leslie L. 

On October i, 1891, Mr. Bowles was 
married to Mrs. Jennie Rogers, widow of 
Jonathan Rogers of this county, and a 
< laughter of Abraham and Mary C. Floyd. 
Mr. Floyd was a farmer of Indiana, where 
he lived. He is now deceased, and his 
widow resides in Prairie Creek township, 
this county. One child was born of the 
second marriage of Mr. Bowles, namelv: 
Charles Eli:)ert, a most interesting child. 

After his first marriage our subject 
moved to a farm in Boynton township. 



Tazewell county, Illinois, and resided there 
one year and then moved to a farm in Orvil 
township, this count}', and made it his home 
for nine years. He then settled on his pres- 
ent home, known as the old Bowles home- 
stead, on section 2, Orvil township, where 
he owns one hundred and twenty acres of 
excellent land, on which he carries on gen- 
eral farming and stock raising. He also 
operates a steam thresher, and his efforts 
ha\e been crowned with success. 

In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and so- 
cially is a member of the Knights of Pyth- 
ias order of Emden. Both he and his wife 
are members of the Bethel Christian church 
of Or\'il township, and are highly respected 
by all who know them for their many e.x- 
cellent traits of character. 



WILLIAJvI ATTEBERRY. 

Among the prominent and progressi\-e 
agriculturists of Eminence township, who, 
through their own unaided efforts, have 
arisen to a position of affluence, is numbered 
the gentleman whose name introduces this 
re\-iew. He was born in that t(.)wnsliii) on 
the 3(1 of Xo\-ember, 1844, and is the only 
li\ing child of Hiram and Lavica ( Kas- 
inger) Atteberry. The father was a native 
of Kentucky and a pioneer of Logan county, 
Illinois, having located in Eminence town- 
ship in the early "30s. His vocation was 
that of farming, which he followed with ex- 
cellent success throughout life. He died in 
September, 1872, ha\-ing long survi\-ed the 
mother of oiu" subject, who passed away in 
1846, 

^^'illiam Atteberry grew to manhood on 
the home farm and early accfuired an excel- 
lent knowledge of all the duties which fall 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



383 



ici the lot of the agriculturist, at the same 
time receiving a good literar)- education in 
the country schools of the locality. Pur- 
chasing a ditch machine in 1870, he com- 
menced taking contracts to construct ditches, 
and did an extensive Inisiness along that 
line fur three years, his motive power being 
oxen. During this tii;ie he laid by a suffi- 
cient sum to purchase eighty acres of land in 
Or\-il township and then turned his atten- 
tion to farming. Being a man of excellent 
judgment, as well as a capable financier, he 
was very successful in his farming opera- 
tions and has accumulated considerable 
])ropert}', including his home farm in Emi- 
nence township, which is a valuable place 
nf two hundred and thirtv-se\'en acres on 
section 21. He also has two hundred and 
forty acres of good farm land in the state 
of Nebraska and a fjuarter section in Okla- 
hi ma. For the past thirtv years Mr. Atte- 
l)erry has made a specialty of buying and 
shipping cattle and hogs. At one time 
while in Nebraska he loaded a train load of 
cattle at Ulysses, about oiie hundred and 
forty miles west of Omaha. They left 
Ulysses at nine o'clock in the forenoon and 
the cattle were in Chicago for the market 
next niDrning. making the fastest time on 
recurd. His residence is a good two-storv 
frame structure, located on a high eleva- 
tion, and the other buildings are in perfect 
harmony therewith. 

On the 1 8th of June. 1869, Mr. Atte- 
berry was united in marriage with Miss 
Fanny S. Skir\-en, who was born in Indi- 
ana, April 5, 1850, and is a daughter of 
Lennidas Perry and Eliza (Welch) Skirven. 
also natives of the Hoosier state. In the 
Skirven famil\- were ten children. The 
children born to our subject and his wife 
were as follows: William F., born May 2, 
1870; Cora B., born January 10, 1872; 



Anna AI., born Alarch 6, 1874; Alberta R., 
born October 21, 1876: Archie R., who was 
born April 4, 1880. and died January 3, 
1893: Jennie I., who was born November 
16. 1882, and died January 9. 1893, onlv 
six days after the death of .Vrchie; Charlie 
L.. born February 5, 1885; ^"^1 Rosa R., 
born December 10, 1887. The parents and 
living children are all members of the Chris- 
t'an church, and the family is one of promi- 
nence in the community where they reside. 
In his political views Mr. Atteberry is 
a Democrat. During the Civil war he en- 
listed at Atlanta, in ]865, in Companv D, 
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Illinois Vol- 
unteer Infantry, the commissioned officers 
of his company being Captain Church; 
Hammit Larrison, first lieutenant ; and James 
Palmer, second lieutenant. He was honor- 
ably discharged Decemljer 15, 1865. ^i^^l 'I's 
papers, which were signed in person by 
President Lincoln, are still in his possession. 
His career affords an example to tlie young 
in that he commenced life for himself with- 
out capital, ])ut, having a determination to 
succeed he industriously applied himself 
until he has acquired a good property and is 
to-day one of the wealthiest farmers of his 
communit}-, as well as one of its most influ- 
ential citizens. 



W. R. KINC.^ID, M. D. 

One of the most popular and successful 
medical practitioners of Elkhart is W. R. 
Kincaid. who has been a resident of this 
enterprising" little town since March, 1895. 
An Illin<iisan hv all the laws of nature, he 
was born Septemlier 5, 1872, near Farmer 
City, DeWitt county, a son of A. T. and 
Frances (Ritter) Kincaid, natives of Men- 



384 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ard county, and tlie latter born near Peters- 
burg. Tbe parents were married in Green- 
view, Menard county, after wbicli they re- 
moved to Farmer City, wliicli lias since been 
their residence. The elder Kincaid is an 
agriculturist on a large scale, and owns and 
manipulates about five hundred acres of land. 
He is prominent in affairs of his county, a 
Republican in politics and highway com- 
missioner, a Mason in fraternal circles, and 
a member of the [Methodist Episcopal 
church. Of the six children in the fam- 
ily: Brittle is the wife of C. H. Wheeler, of 
Wilmette, Illinois ; ^^'. R. : ]\Ionte who mar- 
ried Effie Rutlidge and lives on the old 
homestead; Pearl who is attending the 
Northwestern University ; Gertrude whu 
graduated f ri )m the Farmer City high school 
in the spring of 1901 ; and Andrew T. who 
is attending the Farmer City high school. 

In his boyhood ]Mr. Kincaid was favored 
with excellent educational advantages and 
availea himself of them to the utmost. 
After finishing the district schuols of De- 
\\'itt county and graduating from the high 
school at Farmer City in 1888, he entered 
the Northwestern Uni\ersity Medical Col- 
lege, from which he was graduated with 
honors in 1894. For preliminary practice 
he located in Chicago for a }-ear, but took up 
his permanent residence in Elkhart in 1895. 
Dr. Kincaid has had no cause to regret the 
happy ins]Hrati(in which caused him to lo- 
cate here, for his skill in diagnosis and treat- 
luent have been fully recognized, and a con- 
stantly growing practice attest his geniality 
of nature and thorough understanding of 
liis great profession. 

On December 20. 1893, at Farmer City, 
Illinois, occurred the marriage of Dr. Kin- 
caid and Jessie Burford, who was born in 
Deland, Illinois, July 19, 1873, a daughter 
of C. S. and Lulu (A\'eedman) Burford, 



nati\-es respectively of Indiana and Illinois. 
]\Ir. Burford, who formerly conducted the 
Bee Hive sti.ire at Farmer City, is now a 
resident of Den\er, Colorado, where he is 
engaged in the real estate business. Mrs. 
Kincaid has one sister, Nellie, wlu) is the 
wife of Rev. Edward E. Bean, the Metho- 
dist Episcopal minister at University Park, 
Colorado. To ]\lr. and IMr.s. Kincaid have 
been born three children; Lucilc, born 
August 28, 1895; Francis, born June 12, 
1899; and Nellie, born July 3, 1901. 

In addition to his large general practice 
Dr. Kincaid is examining phvsician for a 
number of insurance companies and for the 
fraternal organizations of the Modern 
^\"(]odmen of America and the Court of 
Honor. He is also a member of the Ken- 
wood Lodge, No. 405, K. P., the Elkhart 
Lodge, No. 513. Court of Honor, and the 
Camp No. 511, \l. W. A. He is a Re- 
jniblican in national politics, and is at pres- 
ent clerk of the city of Elkhart. With his 
family be is atfiliated with the ]\Iethodist 
Episcopal church. 



WTLHELM F. HENN. 

It is not difficult to conjecture what man- 
ner of man is Mr. Henn when we learn that 
for twelve consecutive years he has l>een con- 
tinued in the olifice of supervisor of Laenna 
township by the vote of the people, and is the 
present chairman of the board, which posi- 
tion he has held for two years. Unworthy 
men sometimes succeed in gaining office, but 
the\- can not maintain their hold upon a posi- 
tion which depends upon the franchise of 
tlieir fellow townsmen, and no higher testi- 
monial of ability, fidelity and personal worth 




W. F. HENN, 

CHAIRMAN OF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



387 



can be given than a statement of the fact that 
one has long continued in the pubUc service. 
]\Ir. Henn is also well known as an enterpris- 
ing merchant, successfully conducting a 
hardware store in Latham, where by honora- 
ble business methods he has secured a liljeral 
patronage. 

L'pon a farm in Logan county Mr. Henn 
was born December 3, 1854, his parents be- 
ing Christian and Catherine ( Shumacher) 
Henn, buth of whom were natives of Ger- 
many and emigrated to the United States in 
1852. They landed at Xew Orleans, and 
thence proceeded up the Mississippi river to 
a point on the Illinois shore, whence they 
drove across the country by the way of 
Springfield with horses and wagon to Logan 
county, settling first in I^ke Fork township. 
Avhere the father purchased ninety-one acres 
of land. There he continued to engage in 
agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
occurred in 1858. The mother was thus 
left with the care of her five children and 
four children of Mr. Henn by a former mar- 
riage : Henry Christian, who became a sol- 
dier in the Civil war and died while in the 
service; Katherine, the wife of William 
Suedmyer : Johanna, who is the wife of J. 
'M. Loetterly, of Carrollton, Nebraska; Net- 
tie, wife of Gottlieb Seyfer, now deceased; 
W'ilhelm F.. our subject; Christina, wife of 
W'ilhelm Hitzerman. of Long Prairie, Min- 
nesota; and ^largaret, wife of John Geyer. 
of Logan county. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads of the 
period W'ilhelm F. Henn spent his boy- 
hood. He worked in the fields through the 
summer season and in the winter months at- 
tended the district schools, later supplement- 
ing his early educational privileges by study 
in the schools of Mount Pulaski. When his 
education was completed iie learned the tin- 
ner's trade with C. R. Capps, of ]\I(iunt I'u- 
21 



laski. and later he was employed in the same 
line of business by George F. Reinhardt, of 
that city. In. March, 1877, ^^e came to La- 
tham and entered into partnership with 
George F. Reinhardt, establishing a hard- 
ware store, which they conducted for a year, 
at the end of which time Mr. Henn pur- 
chased his partner's interest and has since 
been sole proprietor. He carries a large and 
well-selected stock of shelf and hea\-y hard- 
ware, implements and farm machinery, and 
his well-known reliability in trade transac- 
tions, together with the durability of his 
goods, has secured to him a constantly grow- 
ing trade. 

On ]\ larch 20, 1878, Mr. Henn was uni- 
ted in marriage tO' ]\Iiss Mary .\. Wagner, 
of [Mount Pulaski, a daughter of Wilhelm 
and Christina ( Gessner ) A\"agner. Their 
children, three in number, are .\l\-in W.. 
Oscar O. and Larda Hulda. Both Mr. and 
Airs. Henn enjoy the warm regard of many 
friends. In his political affiliations he is a 
Democrat, and is justlv regarded as one of 
the most [jrominent members of the i)art\' in 
Latham. In 1884 li^ ^^as elected president 
of the \illage. and in 1880 he was elected 
a member of the board of education and ■ 
ser\'ed as its president to the present time. 
To the office of supervisor he was elected in 
1890. and has since continued therein. His 
official career is without a shadow of wrong 
and has won him the high commendation 
of even those opposed to him politically. He 
is pul)]ic s])irite(l and progressive, manifest- 
ing- a loyal interest in every movement calcu- 
lated to prove of general good. His life has 
been a busy and useful one. in which he has 
realized the A-alue of earnest, honest labor 
in winning success, for it has 1>een along 
those lines that he has gained prosperity. 
Mr. Henn and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church of Mount Pulaski. 



388 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



JOHN B. DOWNEY. 

Among the prominent and usefnl citi- 
zens of East Lincoln township. Logan 
connty. IlHnois, is John B. Downey, who is 
the efficient road commissioner of the t(_^wn- 
ship of which he has been a resident since 
1868. The birtii of Mr. Downey occurred 
April 18, 1848, in Warren county. Ohio, 
antl he is a son of Eleazar Downey, whose 
liome is still in that county, where lie is an 
l:onored resident, at the age of eighty-two 
vears. having been born in 1819. The 
mother of our subject, who was formerly 
Elizabeth Worley, died April 12, 1857, at 
the age of thirty years. A family of six 
children were born to the parents ; Charles 
\\".. who lived in Ohio and died at the age 
of twenty-two years; John B.. the sub- 
ject of this sketch; George, who is a farmer 
in Warren county, Ohio: William F.. who 
is a farmer in Kansas; Celia J., who is the 
widow of Frank Shawhan and lives in Ohio : 
and Syhan E.. who has been a resident of 
East Lincoln township, this county, since 
1889. All of these children were educated 
in the common schools of Warren county, 
Ohio, the youngest ones being given collegi- 
ate advantages, and three of the sons be- 
came teachers. The father is a man of 
great intelligence and always encouraged 
all educational advancement. By trade he is 
a millwright, but also did some farming. 

Our subject comes of German stock on 
the paternal side and of Scotch-Irish on the 
maternal, a combination which has been 
both phvsically and mentally of benefit to 
him. His early education was acquired in 
the state of Ohio. During the winters he 
was a pupil there until twenty years old, 
while the summers were occupied with farm- 
ing operations. At the age of twenty years 
Mr. Downev left his home and came to Illi- 



nois and settled c)n a farm belonging to his 
father in East Lincoln township, Logan 
county. Here Mr. Downey married, and 
then located on the farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres in section 28, where he has 
made his home. This he has improved with 
modern buildings, and has made it not only 
one of the most valual)le but also one of the 
most attractive homes in this vicinity. 

Mr. Downey was married in 1872, in 
Logan county, to Miss Mary A. Rigg. who 
was born in Sangamon county, June 4, 
1856. and whi> was educated in McDonough 
county. T(i this marriage has been born 
one daughter, — Fairy A., born in 1874, who 
is the wife of Elnathan Town, of Easton, 
and has two children. — Karl u. and Muriel. 
]klrs. Town is a lady of manv graces of mind 
and person. She was thoroughly educated 
in Lincoln L'niversity and later took a 
course in music at the Wesleyan Lni\ersity, 
Bloomingtcm, possessing great musical 
gifts. 

In politics Mr. Downev has alwavs sup- 
ported the Republican party. For twenty- 
eight years he has been identified with edu- 
cational affairs in the county, and in the 
spring of 1901 he was made commissioner 
of rtmds. This election gives general satis- 
faction, as ]\Ir. Downey's thorough business 
methods are well known, and he enjoys the 
full confidence of the community. The fam- 
il\- connection is with the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, in which ^Ir. Downey is the 
recording steward of the Lincoln circuit. 
For nine years he was the superintendent of 
the Sunday-school, and has long been one 
of the generous and cheerful supporters of 
c\erv benevolent and charitable enterprise 
connected with the church. He is a thor- 
oughly self-made man. and has won his way 
to the prominent position he holds in the 
estimation of the communitv which has 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



389 



learned to \-alue him for his integrity, hon- 
esty and his characteristics which make him 
a good friend, i<ind neiglil)c)r and estimable 

•citizen. 

♦-•-♦ 

GEORGE H. HUBBARD. 

Prominent among the energetic, enter- 
prising and successful business men of Alt. 
Pulaski is George H. Hubbard, the present 
secretary and treasurer of the Mt. Pulaski 
Grain Company. He was born January 23, 
1865, upon a farm in Prairie Creek town- 
ship, this county, and is a son of Nicholas 
and Mary (Smith) Hubbard, both natives 
of Prussia, Germany, the former born in 
i82^. the latter in 1830. The parents came 
to the United States in childhnod and were 
married in Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1853 they 
remo\ed to Illincis, and settled in Prairie 
Creek township, Logan count)-, where the 
father farmed, and in connection with the 
tiperation of his land successfully engaged in 
,sti>ck raising. There he tiled on the 16th 
of October, 1885. His widow is still living 
and now makes her home at No. 1 10 Water 
street, Lincoln. In their family were nine 
children, namely : Nicholas, a resident of 
Omaha, Nebraska; Mary A., wife of Pat- 
rick Ryan; Theresa C, deceased: Frederick 
I., a retired farmer of Lincoln; Anna A., 
who is li\ing with her mother in Lincoln ; 
Emery, who died in childhood; George H., 
our subject ; Jacob J., a resident of Chicago; 
and Louis A., of Lincoln. 

During his boyhood and youth George 
H, Huljbard attended school through the 
winter months and devoted his time and at- 
tention to the labors of the fields through- 
out the summer. He remained on the old 
homestead and had charge of the farm after 
his father's death until February, 1893, 



wlien he removed to Lincoln and embarked 
in the grain business, as a member of the 
firm of Hubbard Brothers & Company, but 
since March, i8g6, he has been connected 
with the Mt. Pulaski Grain Company and 
has made his home in Mt. Pulaski. This 
company was organized March 14, 1889, 
and the present officers are John Lincoln, 
president ; Andrew Eisiminger, vice-presi- 
dent; and George H. Hubbard, secretary 
and treasurer. They do cpiite an extensive 
business and ship their grain principally to 
Chicago and New Orleans. 

In 1893 Mr. Hubbard was united in mar- 
riage with Miss ]\Iary A. O'Connor, of Lo- 
, gan county, a daughter of John O'Connor, 
and to them have been born five children : 
Anna, deceased; Nicholas L.; John F. ; 
Paul ; and George H., Jr. Fraternally Mr. 
Hubbard is a member of Alt. Pulaski 
Lodge. No. 454, I. O. O. F. In 1900 he 
was elected a member of the school board 
for a term of three years, and is now most 
creditably filling that office. His strict in- 
tegrity and honorable dealing in business 
commend hini to the confidence of all ; his 
pleasant manner wins him friends, and he 
is one of the popular and honored citizens of 
Mt. Pulaski. 



\MLLIAM ALENANDER PEGRAM. 

The subject of this sketch, a well-known 
retired farmer of Lincoln, was born on the 
16th of January, 1824, in Dinwiddle county, 
Virginia, and is a son of William B. and 
Sarah E. (\\"alker) Pegram, who were also 
natives of the Old Dominion. The father 
died in 1881, at the age of eighty-two years, 
and the mother departed this life at Lincoln 
in 1886, at the age of eight3'-four. Her 



390 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



father fought for American independence in 
the Re\'ohitionary war. Our subject's pa- 
ternal grand tailier belonged to an old Vir- 
ginian family. 

William A. Pegram is one of a family 
of seven children, all of whom lived to be 
grown, and six of the numl>er still survive. 
He was principally educated in private 
schools of Kentucky and Illinois, coming to 
this state in 1835. On starting out in life 
for himself, he engaged in farming near 
Carrollton, Greene county. Illinois, for a 
time, and later spent eight years at Monte- 
zuma. Pike county. In 1857 he came to 
Lincoln. Logan count}', and found this 
region almost an unbroken prairie. He. 
with father and brother, B. B. Pegram. pur- 
chased a tract of fi\-e hundred and sixty 
acres of land in Chester township, and at 
once turned their attention to the improve- 
ment and cultivation of this place, trans- 
forming it into three fine farms. He still 
owns two hundred and forty acres of land, 
\vhic'i lip r?nts, one hundred and si.xty acres 
of which was in the original purchase, while 
he m i\\ li\es a retired life in Lincoln, enjoy- 
ing a well-earned rest. He has a nice home 
at Xo. 506 Tremont street, which he bought 
in 1870. 

On the 3d of July. 184Q, Mr. Pegram 
wedded Miss Martha W'lwd Pegram. of 
Greene ci unity, who was a nati\'e of Ken- 
tucky, and a daughter of Dr. John C. Pe- 
gram. a physician of Carrollton. Illinois. 
Unto them were born twelve children, six 
stms and six daughters, namely : George, 
deceased: Blanch, wife nf .Vndrew Lax- 
man; \'irginus. \\hi> died at the age of 
eigliteen : William .\.. Jr.. who died at the 
age of ten vears : T. Lincoln, a merchant ot 
Decatur. Illinois: Samuel Mar-hall, also of 
Decatur, Illinois: Edwartl. who died in in- 
faiicv : Carrie, deceased: Helen, wife of 



Hon. L. B. Stringer, state senator from t! is 
district; Mary, wife of E. W. Curry, of 
Cloomington : Edith, wife of William Duff, 
a farmer of Logan county ; and Virginia, at 
home. The mother of these children died 
in 1877, and for his second wife Mr, Pe- 
gram married Miss Sarah Martin, \vliii was 
then living in Lincoln, and by this union he 
has one son. William A,, at home. 

Although past the allotted three score 
years and ten. being now se\ent\'-se\'en 
years of age. Air, Pegram is still hale and 
hearty, and has the vigor of a much younger 
man. He has always taken an active inter- 
est in pulilic affairs, especially along educa- 
tional lines, and has served as a member of 
the school l^oard and trustee of the sch<x)l 
fund. He has also held other minor otifices. 
and has ever faithfully performed his duties 
of citizenship. He is an active and consist- 
ent memlier of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and for tliirtv vears has lieen a mem- 
ber of the church board. Honored and re- 
spected by all. he is certainly deserxing of 
prominent mention in the history of his 
atlopted county. 



JOHN W. OLDAKER. 

John \\'. Oldaker. one of .vtlanta's fore- 
most farmers, residing on liis farm one and 
one-half miles east oi the village of At- 
lanta, is one of five children born to Jesse 
\'. and Rebecca (Bentley) Oldaker. His 
father was a native of \'irginia. where the 
grandfather carried on an extensive farm, 
111 the spring of 1845 he was married, and 
in the fall of the same vear he came to Illi- 
nois and purchased a farm of eightv acres 
one mile east of our subject's present farm. 
Later he sold liis first purchase and bought 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



391 



one luindred and sixty acres, on wliich lie 
resided until his death, which occurred in 
1889. 

John W. ( Jidaker was born August 17, 
1848. in Highland county, Ohio, being one 
of live children, all now deceased with the 
exception of our subject and h^liza jane, 
who married D. N. Longwortli and now 
resides in McLean county, this state. Our 
subject spent his boyhood days on his fa- 
ther's farm and attendetl the common 
schools. At the age of twenty-one. follow- 
ing in the footsteps of his father, he began 
the life of a farmer. Having- accumulated 
money in his boyhood da}-s. he purchased 
forty acres of land, on which his present 
liome stands. By wise management he has 
increased his farm until he is now the ])os- 
sessor of two hundred acres of rich and fer- 
tile land, antl he has a most comfortalile 
home and substantial outbuildings. 

On b'ebruary 9, 1879, Mr. Oldaker was 
united in marriage with Mar_\' A. Robinson, 
a daughter of William B. Robinson, who is 
now deceased. After the death of ]\Ir. I^ob- 
inson her mother married William X. Brock, 
a sketch of wlmm will be foiuid elsewhere in 
this work. Mrs. Oldaker was l>orn I'^eb- 
ruar\- 5, 1855, and grew to womanhocid in 
Atlanta, where she recei\'ed her education. 
As a result of her marriage with Mr. Old- 
aker she has become the mother df the fol- 
lowing children: Maud B.. born June 19. 
1880; Ethel M., born Octolier 21. 1HS2: 
Jessie I., born October 6, 1884; William C. 
born April 9, 1887; Elma F.. born Septem- 
ber 3. 1890; James L.. born March 16. 1893 ; 
and George W.. born December 20. 1894. 
All of these children reside at home. Mrs. 
Oldaker is a member of the Christian 
church and takes an actixe interest in church 
Avork. 

In politics our subject is a Reiniblican, 



Init has never cared for political honors. 
He is a farmer first and above all else. His 
success is due to his own well-directed ef- 
forts, and now that he has reached old aee 
he can live retired frdui the more acti\-e 
duties of life. 



BENJAMIN K. GADDIS. 

Benjamin E. Gaddis. who since attain- 
ing his majority has been a resident of Emi- 
nence township, is a native of Ohio, born in 
Clinton county on the Jith of .\pril, 1844, 
and is one of a family of seven children 
whose parents were David I!, and Priscilla 
( Elliot ) (jaddis. The jjaternal grand- 
father, William (iaddis. also had a family of 
seven children. David B. Gaddis was born 
in I'ennsylvania. in 1809. and was reared 
on a farm in that state, receiving a good 
education in the country schools. Later he 
removed to Ohio, where he followed farm- 
ing until called to his final rest in 1889. 
His wite died in 185 i. .^lie was a daugh- 
ter of Benjamin Elliot, who was a repre- 
sentative of one of Pennsyh-ania's first fam- 
ilies, and spent his entire life as a farmer in 
that state. For his .second wife Mr. Gaddis 
married Mrs.. Mary A. ((iabel) P.rvan, in 
1859. 

During his boyhood and \iiuth I'.enja- 
min E. Gaddis attended sclniol and assisted 
in the work of the home farm, remaining 
under the parental roof until twent\--one 
}"ears of age. when he came to Logan coun- 
ty, Illinois, and commenced work bv the 
month in Eminence townshi]). Ide was 
thus employed until i866, when he pur- 
chased a tract of land in that township, con- 
sisting of eighty-four acres. To' this he has 
gradually added until he now owns two 



392 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hundred and sixty acres, upon which he has 
made many useful and vakiable improve- 
ments, and now has one of the most desir- 
able farms of its size in the neighborhood. 

Mr. Gaddis was married, December 12, 
1865, to Miss Margaret Niblick, a daughter 
of Thomas Niblick, who came to this state 
from Tennessee in 1852 and located in Lo- 
gan county. She died on the 26th of Feb- 
ruary, 18O9, lea\-ing two children, namely: 
Josephine and William, who are still living. 
On the 26th of December, 1872, Air. Gaddis 
Avas again married, his second union being 
with Miss ]\Iary E. Gilchrist, a daughter of 
David Gilchrist, who is now living a retiretl 
life in Lir.joln. This union lias been blessed 
with four children: Nellie AI. ; David, who 
died in 1878, aged two years: Robert C. ; 
and Clifford B. 

;\Ir. Gaddis and his family are meml)ers 
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and 
in politics he is identified with the Demo- 
cratic party. He is well known through- 
out the county as a straightforward, reliable 
man, whose word is considered as good as 
his bond, and he well merits the high regard 
in which he is held. 



ADAM SCHONAUER. 

Adam Schonauer, one of the leading 
and influential farmers nf East Lincoln 
township, is a man whose worth and ability 
have gained him success, honor and public 
confidence. He enjoys the well-earned dis- 
tinction of being what the public calls a 
"self-made man." and an analyzation of his 
character reveals the fact that industry, en- 
terprise and well-directed efforts ha\-e lieen 
the essential features in his prosperity. 

Mr. Schonauer was born October 4, 



185 1, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, of 
which county his parents, John and Sally 
A. (Epling) Schonauer, were also natives. 
There the father followed farming until his 
death, which (jccurred in 1861. The 
mother is still living, at the age of sixty- 
nine years, and makes her home in Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania. 

Our subject, who is the nnl_\- child of the 
family, was reared and educated in the 
countv of his uativitv, and remained on the 
home farm until 1872, when he came west. 
-After spending a short time in Danville,' 
Illinois, he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, 
where he clerked in a hardware store for 
eighteen numtlis and had an excellent oppor- 
tunit}- to learn the business. He ne.xt went 
to St. Louis, Missouri, and engaged in har- 
vesting as a binder between that place and 
St. Paul. 

In the fall of 1876 Mr. Schonauer came 
to Logan county, Illinois, where he was 
first emploved as a farm hand for eighteen 
months, and then rented land, which he op- 
erated quite successfully for three years. 
Having saved some monev, and with a little 
help from his mother, he purchased one 
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 
26, East Lincoln township, which he has 
since fullv improxxd, tiling the land and 
erecting a good set of farm buildings there- 
on. He has been very successful as a man- 
ager, and has steadily prospered in his 
farming and stock raising. Formerly he 
fed quite a large amount of stock for mar- 
ket. 

On the 13th of March, 1881. was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Schonauer and 
]\liss Lena Stoll. who was born in Aetna 
township, this county, Alarch Q, 1861. Her 
parents, George and Margaretta Stoll, set- 
tled here when this was all wild prairie, and 
are now residents of Chester township. Of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



393 



tlie ten cliildren born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Schtinauer two died in early childhood, and 
Amanda died Jaiiiiary i, 1900, at the age 
of eighteen years. Those living are 
George, Clara, Amelia, Albert, John, Obe- 
cliah and Sail}- A., who are being educated 
in the common schools of East Lincoln 
township. 

Air. Schonauer has taken quite an active 
and prominent part in public affairs, Ijut has 
ne\-er been a ptilitician in the sense of office 
seeking. He votes for the men whom he 
believes best qualified for office. Llis fel- 
low citizens, recognizing his worth and abil- 
ity, elected him supervisor, and for several 
years he was an influential member i>f the 
county board, being chairman of the road 
and bridge committee and also the pauper 
committee, and was a member of the com- 
mittees on finance, poor farm and printing. 
He takes great interest in educational affairs, 
and has efficiently served as school director 
during his entire residence in East Lincoln 
township. Religiously he and his wife are 
members of Zion Lutheran church. Of a 
jovial disposition, he makes many friends 
and is held in high regard by all who know 



HARAI KLOKKENGA. 

Harm Klokkenga, the owner of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of good farming land 
on section 32, Orvil township, Logan 
county, Illinois, has lived in tliis county 
since 1873. He is a native of Germany, 
haxing been born in that country on jMarch 
3. 185 1, and is the son of Henry and Lizzie 
Klokkenga, both of whom are natives of 
Germany, where the father was a laborer all 
his life and where both he and his wife died. 
There were onlv two of the children of this 



fanuly who came to America, our subject 
and a brother Joest, the latter making the 
trip in 1881 and settling upon our subject's 
present farm, where he lived a few years. 
He then remo\'ed tij Cumberland county, 
Illinois, where he now lives and is engaged 
in farming. 

Our subject was married in (ierman_\- to 
!Miss ]\Iary Harms, and ten children have 
been born to them, namel_\- : Henry, who 
married Alartha Fink and resides on a farm 
in Or\-il township; Harm, who married 
Katie Aper and lives in Orvil township ; 
Albert, who resides at home; Nanke, at 
home; Lizzie, at home; Tina, wife of Ru- 
dolph Kasebier, of Orvil township; Annie. 
Allie, Mattie and Harr}-, all at home. 

In 1873 our subject and fanfily came to 
America and landed in Xew York, whence 
they came direct to Logan count\'. Jllinois. 
where he worked for two years on a farm 
near Emden. He then settled on what is 
known as the old Carnahan farm, in Or\-il 
township, where he lived for se\en }ears. 
after which he leased a farm three miles 
south of Emden and lived there nine vears 
and also held another lease in this township 
for five years. He then purchased his present 
farm on section 32, known as part of the 
old Betzelberger farm, where he now owns 
one hundred and si.xty acres of excellent 
farming land. ]\Ir. Klokkenga also is the 
owner of five acres of timber land in Emi- 
nence township, this county. 

In politics he is a Democrat, and both 
he and his wife are members of the German 
Lutheran church of Emden, this county. 
The farm owned by our subject is a fine one. 
He ne\-er has a failure of crops, and he and 
his sons conduct all the operations. The 
home of the fanfih- is a verv comfortable 
one and they dispense a genial hospital it_\' to 
all who become their guests. 



394 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



IXWID X. CHESTXL'T. 

David X. Chestnut, junior member of 
the prosperous firm of Stumpf & Chestnut, 
hardware merchants, was born in Prairie 
Creek township, Logan count}-, Illinois, 
]\Iarch -'3. 1869. His father, Thomas J. 
Chestnut, was born in the Buckeye state, of 
which his father. Alexander R.. was als) 
a native. Thomas J. Chestnut received a 
common school education, and under his 
father's able instruction and industrious ex- 
amjile developetl into a substantial and prac- 
tical farmer. He eventually settled in 
Prairie Creek township. Logan county, 
Avhere he is one of the must pmniinent and 
liel])ful citizens of his locality and an agri- 
culturist of means and jirogressix-eness. 
Having a keen appreciation of the advan- 
tages of a good education and business 
training, he placed e\er\- available advan- 
tage in the way of iiis son David, desiring 
liim to become a permanent fixture of the 
commercial world and a careful, conserva- 
tive man of Inisiness. His education, which 
was begun in the common schools of Logan 
county, was later supplemented by a course 
in the Lincoln Business College of Lincoln. 
Immediately afterward he returned to Xew 
Hollantl and was employed by L. Burchett. 
the confidence of whom he was not slow in 
gaining, and who was himself a sound busi- 
ness man with the gootl sense to appreciat'i 
the capable ser\ice of his enthusiastic assist- 
ant. Mr. Chestnut rapidly rose to a knowl- 
edge of the business. li\ed w ithin his income 
and laid by sufficient money to eual)le him in 
iSi)T, to form the partnershi]) which has since 
pro\'ed ''iich a wise forethought ami practi- 
cal proposition. The stock on hand con- 
sists of hardware, agricultural implements, 
^vagons and buggies, and contains all mod- 
ern and late devices f(.)r labor sax'ing. 



Aside from being a successful firm and con- 
ducting a large and increasing business, the 
methods pursued are such as to command 
the fullest public confidence, and the genial 
atmosphere dominating the place are added 
inducements for a speedy return of pur- 
chasers. Mr. Chestnut is personall_\- popu- 
lar with all classes in his district, and is 
preeminent in pi.ditics, being a member of 
the Republican partv. 



^MARSHALL A. CR.VXE. 

Marshall A. Crane, a resident of section 
8, township ij. range i, Lake Fork town- 
shi]>. Logan count}-, was born in Preston 
county. West \'irginia, September 18. 1848, 
and is a son of Elisha and Mary Ann ( Fike) 
Crane, both parents being at present resi- 
dents of Lincoln. Illinois. The father was 
Ijorn in the same county in 1826 and there 
grew to n-ianhood and was married. In 1856 
lie and his wife moved to Elkhart, Illinois, * 
Ijut later located in Corwin township, Lo- 
gan county, in 1859. Here the familv re- 
sided until aliout 1883, when renio\-al was 
made to Lake Fork township, where the idea 
came to Mr. Crane of draining the lake and 
making fine farming land of this large tract. 
The more he considered it the more plausible 
the \-eiiture seemed, although he met many 
discouragements fron-i his neighl)i.>rs. 
Xevertheless he persistetl, put in scrapers, 
dug out trees, introduced tiling, and by 
1891 he had proved that his idea was not 
only practicable but that it was accom- ' 
plished. The land comprised originally 
some one thousand acres, and at one time 
^Fr. Crane ow-ned some two thousand acres, 
but he has retained onlv three hundred. 
Some complications arose liy which he lost a 




MARSHALL A. CRANE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



397 



portion of liis land, Init he retained the lake, 
and that proved the restoration of his for- 
tune. At one time he owned, and kept for 
breeding purposes nearly twO' hundred cows 
and heifers and has fed between three hun- 
dred and four hundred head of steers for 
the market. He and his wife now live re- 
tired. While in Corwin township he was 
elected on the Republican ticket and held the 
office of super\-isor for a number of years, 
.ser\-ing as chairman of the board a part of 
the time. He and his wife are memjjers of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

^larshall A. Crane, of this biography, 
was educated first in the common schools of 
his district, but later enjoyed three years 
at the Wesleyan University, Bloomington, 
Illinois. After his college days ended he 
returned t(.) the nld liduie, and is now the 
owner of two hundred and si.xty-six acres 
of the iiriginal property, and has put in all 
of the improvements which make this one 
of ilie most valualile farms iif the tnwnship. 
He carries on general farming and stock 
raising and has one of the finely improved 
and most beautiful homes in the l<icality. 

In 1876 ^Ir. Crane was united in mar- 
riage t(^ ]\Iiss Clara .S. Poorman, of W'ill- 
iamsville, Sangamon county, who was a 
daughter of John M. and Martha Susan 
Poorman, and to this union four children 
have been born, namely: Flossie G., Jes- 
sie P., John P. and Smith. 

Mr. Crane is an active memljer of the 
Republican party, but he is not in any sense 
an office seeker, though doing his civic duty 
at all times and taking a deep interest in all 
matters promising tn be of Ijenefit to his 
district. He is a leading member of the 
Methodist church in Mount Pulaski, and is 
one of the representative citizens of Logan 
•countv. 



BARNEY R. BEHRENDS. 

One <it the most successful farmers of 
Logan ccunty is Barney R. Behrends, whose 
residence here dates from 1867. He is now 
living in Orvil township, where he has large 
landed interests and he is also connected 
with the Inisiness affairs of Hartsburg as 
president of the bank there. He is a native 
of Hanover. Germany, born December 28, 
1853. unto Klaas S. and Dina (Johnson) 
Behrends, both O'f whom were natives of 
Hann\er, and came to the United States in 
i8ri4, settling in Morgan county, Illinois, 
where the father engaged in farming until 
1867. He came to Logan county, establish- 
ing his home in Prairie Creek township, near 
San Jose, where he carried on agricultural 
])ursuits for three }-ears. On the expiration 
(if that period he removed to a farm one-half 
miles west of Emden, and after three years 
went ti;> Mason county, Illinois, making his 
lidUie nine miles nnrtheast of Havana until 
he abandoned farming in 1890. He then re- 
moved to Pekin and after two years took 
up his abode in the village of Hartsburg. 
where linth he and his wife are still living, 
being among the most highly respected citi- 
zens (if the town. One child died in infan- 
cv and the other members of their family 
were: Barney R., of this sketch: George 
a farmer li\-ing in Mason count)-, Illinois; 
Benjamin, who is li\ing on the old home- 
stead in that count}-: Annie, the wife of 
Henry Leesman, a resident farmer of Harts- 
burg; Katie, wife of Hiram Leesman, of 
Mason county ; Henrf\', a resident farmer of 
the same county: and Tony, a well known 
agriculturists of Mason county. 

Mr. Behrends of this sketch spent the 
first ten years of his life in the fatherland 
and then accompanied his parents on their 



398 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



emigration to the United States.- He pur- 
sued hi.s education in tlie public schools of 
both countries and remained at home with 
his father until his marriage, which >vas 
celebrated in 1875, Aliss Maggie Feddinga 
becoming- his wife. She was born in Ger- 
many and her parents. Air. and Mrs. Klaas 
Feddinga, never left their nati\e Hanover. 
Mrs. Behrends was called to her tinal rest 
July 3, 1898, leaving ti\-e children, namely: 
Klaas. John. Jurn, .\nnie and Barnev. ]\Ir. 
Behrends was again married, in kjoo, his 
second union being- with Miss Jennie Groen. 
of Pekin, Illinois, a daughter of Richard 
Groen, who is now engaged in blacksmith- 
ing in Pekin. There is- one chikl liy this 
marriage, Althea Tillie. 

I\Ir. Behrends began his domestic life on 
the Scull\- land on section 14, Or\il town- 
ship, where he leased eighty acres, ccmtin- 
uing- its cultivation for seven years. He 
then removed to section 23 — a tract of one 
hundred and si.xtv ;icres of the Scull\- land, 
and there he made his home for six years 
after which he removed to his present farni. 
Here he purchased one hundred and si.xtv 
acres known as the old Bruner farm, and 
with characteristic energv he began its de- 
velopment and improvement. As the years 
ha\-e passetl he has atkled to the propertv 
and he now has here three hundred and fifty 
acres of land, all of which is in Or\-il town- 
ship. He carries on general farming and 
has a \aluabk' ])lace, the carefull}' cultixated 
fields yielding- him golden harvests which 
year after year enable him to add to his 
capital. He is also president of the Bank 
of Hartsburg, which is recognized as a re- 
lialile financial institution and is already re- 
ceiving a good patronage. In 1880 Mr. 
Behrends introduced the first steam powiT 
threshing machine in the township and still 
owns a machine which is now operated bv 



his sons. In 1900 the farmers of Lone Tree 
School District established a telephone com- 
pany under the name of the Lone Tree Tele- 
phone Company with connection at Harts- 
burg with the Mutual Company. 

In his political views Mr. Behrends was 
formerly a Democrat but is now a Republi- 
can, and he keeps well informed on the 
questions and issues of the day. He has 
ser\ed as road commissitnier in his town- 
i-hi]) f(ir six years, and for thirteen years 
was school director, rendering effective sev- 
■\ -.ce in behalf of the cause of education. Both 
he and his wife are members of the German 
Reformed church of Pekin. and are ])eople 
of the highest worth, their many excellent 
ir;iiis of heart and mind gaining for theni 
unqualifield respect. Whatever success Mr. 
Behrends has achie\-ed is attributed to his 
Lwn efforts and the example should serve 
as a source of encouragement and inspira- 
tion to the young, showing what can be ac- 
complished tlu-dugh strong purpose and hon- 
orable methods. 



PROF. HERBERT ORAL MERRY. 

Professor Herbert Oral Merry, instruct- 
'ir in \iolin and orchestral music at Lincoln 
L'niversity, was born in Farmer City. De- 
W'itt county, Illinois, January 7, 1872, and 
is a son of l\;ili)h W. and Polly R. ( l'"arr) 
Merry, both of whom are natives of Can- 
ada, the former born in 1838, and the latter 
in 1844. By trade the father is a blacksmith 
and followed that occupation a number nf 
years. In 1887 he remo\-ed with his family 
to Lincoln, and here he and his wife still 
reside. 

Professor Merry attended the public 
schools of Deland until he was fifteen vears 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



399- 



of age, when he came with his parents to 
Lincoln, after which lie spent ii\e years in 
the schools here, graduating from tlie high 
school in class of 1S92. He had presinusly 
begun the study of the vionin, taking lessons 
of a local teacher at the age of eleven. In 
1887 he entered the musical department of 
the Lincoln LTniversiay, where he tnnk near- 
ly two years" work under Professor Eckerl, a 
gmduate of Berlin L'ni\'ersity, who was at 
that time teacher nf piano and \iiilin in the 
college. Later he studied under Professor 
Cheeseman and Hersey, the latter of whom 
was a graduate of the Ro^al Conser\-atory at 
Leipsic, Ciermany, and was at that time 
teacher of violin at the Illinois W'esleyan 
L^niversity, Bloomington, where Professor 
Mei''r\- \\as graduated in 1892, after which 
he continued his study there till 1893. 

In 1890 he commenced teaching music, 
Iia\ing classes at Elkhart, W'illiamsville and 
Lincoln. In 1895 he was chosen violin 
teacher in Lincoln University by its board 
of trustees, and has filled that position to 
their entire satisfaction ever since. Besides 
being an acci)m])lished xiolinist, he is also 
an efficient band man and director. Un- 
der his care his department of the cullege 
of music has been materially built up, and 
at present has a very important place in the 
university, both the band and orchestra be- 
ing connected with it. Professor Merry has 
composed a number of pieces for band and 
orchestra, but has never ]mblislied them. 

On the 26th of December, 1894, he was 
united in marriage with ]Miss Maude Tandy, 
of Lincoln, wIki was born in Carrc.illton, 
(jreene cnuntv, lllinnis. in 1874, and is a 
daughter of Walter S. and Julia ( Ereer) 
Tandy, also natives of this state. Bv this 
uniijn there ha\'e Ijcen born three children, 
namely: Tlielma I'., Paul, and Halcyone. 
The Professor is a prominent and acti\-e 



member of the Christian church, and is one 
of its untiring workers. He is director of 
its choir ; has served as superintendent ot 
the .Sunday school four vears ; and is presi- 
dent of the East Lincoln township of the 
Logan County Sunday School Association. 
He is also vice-president from Logan county 
of the Illinois Music l^eacbers Association, 
and a member of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. The Professor and Mrs. 
Merry stand high in the nuisical and social 
circles of Lincoln, where they ha\-e made 
man\' warm friends. 



DAVID J. GILCHRIST. 

Da\'id J. Gilchrist, one of the most en- 
terprising and up-to-date farmers of Emi- 
nence township, has spent his entir-e life in 
Logan county, and throughout his business 
career has lieen acti\'elv identified with her 
agricultural interests. He was born in Or- 
vil township, in March, 1850, and is one of 
a family of seven children, four sons and 
three daughters. His father, Da\id (jil- 
christ. is a native of Scotland, born in Kirk- 
cudbrightshire. December 21, 1813. and is a 
son of William and Jane (Clarke) Gilchrist. 
He was given a good education and re- 
mained under the parental roof until reach- 
ing man's estate. In the spring of 1842 he 
came to the United States, and after spend- 
ing three years in Bristol county. Rhode 
Island, he came to Logan county. Illinois, 
and was successfully engaged in farming in 
Or\il township until 1881. Being indus- 
trious and enterprising as well as a man of 
good business and executive ability, he pros- 
pered in his undertakings and is to-day the 
owner of eleven hundred acres of valuable 
land under a hiHi state of cultivation. He 



400 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was in limited circumstances on coming to 
this country, and through his own unaided 
efforts he has met witl: remarkal^le success. 
Before lea\-ing Scotland he was married, in 
June. 1839, to Miss Helen McMath, who 
died in Xovember, 1858, leaving seven chil- 
dren, and he subseciuently wedded Airs. 
Marx yinvr. widow of Edward Marr, who 
came to America from Scotland in i860 and 
died in Lincoln, Illinois, three years later. 
Two children blessed this union. The 
father was reared in the Presbyterian faith, 
and has long been an active member of that 
church, serving as ruling elder for several 
years. He is now living a retired life in 
Lincoln. 

The early education of our subject was 
acquired in the public schools of Orvil town- 
ship, and. he was reared under his father s 
watchful eye. Being thoroughly familiar 
with every department of farm work, and 
being ambitious to succeed, he started out 
in life fur himself in 1870 by operating a 
rented farm in Orvil township, and in that 
way accumulated a snug sum of mone}-. In 
the S])ring of 1877 he purchased eighty acres 
of his present farm of two hundred and 
.seven acres of land on sections ig and 30, 
Eminence township, and here he has re- 
sided for the past twenty-four }'ears. It is 
an up-to-date farm, impro\'ed with a good, 
modern residence and substantial barns and 
outbuildings, and everything about the place 
sh(j\\s conclusi\-elv that the owner is a man 
of good business abilit^v and that he thor- 
oughly understands the vocation which he 
follows. 

On the 14th of March, 1877, Mr. Gil- 
christ was united in marriage with ]\Iiss 
Katherine E. Seibert, a daughter of one of 
Eminence township's most distinguished 
farmers, Jacob Seibert, who was born in 
Champaign county, Ohio, in 1832, and was 



a resident of Logan county, Illinois, from 
1862 up to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred in February. 1898. Mrs. Gilchrist 
was born in Ohio, June 23, 1857, and was 
five years old when Ijrought by her parents 
to this county, where she grew to woman- 
hood, receiving a first-class education in its 
schools. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist ha\e 
seven children, whose names and dates of 
birth are as follows: Myrtle M., April 29, 
1878: Ellis LeRoy. September lO, 1879; 
Ethel B., August 13, 1881 : George E., 
]March 22. 1884: P. Lavelle. September 24, 
1887: Mary H., November 17, 1889; and 
Bernice C. June 10. 1893. Myrtle M. died 
October 9, 1901. She was the wife of Gil- 
Ijert Powell, of Tazewell county. 

Mr. Gilchrist and his famil}- are mem- 
bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian church 
and they ha\e a wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances throug'iout the county. He 
uses his right of franchise in support of the 
Republican part}- and its principles, and 
ne\-er withholds his aid from any enterprise 
which he belie\-es will pro\-e of pul)lic bene- 
fit, being one of the most public-spirited and 
])rogressi\-e citizens of Eminence township. 



\MLLIAM T. RITTER. 

For a quarter of a century this gentle- 
man h.as been an honored resident of Lin- 
coln, and as a florist he is now identified 
with lier business interests. Like manv of 
her best citizens, his early home was in the 
south, for he was born on a farm in Fa}'ette 
county, Kentucky, Xovember 28, 1834, a 
son of James and Rebecca (W'oodgate) 
Ritter. who were also natives of that state, 
the former born in Jessamine count\', the 
latter in Fayette county. They spent their 
entire li\es in Kentuckv. the father being 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



401 



engaged in fanning ami ilatboating duwn 
the Mississippi ri\-er to Xew Orleans. 
Our subject's paternal grandfather, Conrad 
Ritter, was a (jerman by birth, and emi- 
grated to the United States when young. 
His wife l)ore the maiden name of Hannah 
Baile}'. The maternal grandfather ni our 
subject was Jonathan W'oodgate. who was 
born in \'irginia and at an early day re- 
moved t(_) Kentuck)-. He was a soldier in 
the Black Hawk war. 

The public scho(jls oi Lexington, Ken- 
tucky, afforded our suliject his early edu- 
cational ad\antages. After leaxing school 
he learned the carpenter's trade and was em- 
ployed in the construction of plantation 
houses first as a journeyman and later as 
a contractor. In i8d4 he came to Illinois, 
and lived for a time in Lincoln and later in 
Mason City. Subse(|uently he spent two 
years at Springfield, Missouri, where he 
erected a hotel and business block and also 
built a hotel in Pierce City, that state. 
He erected three large Ijuildings in Xeosha, 
the countv seat of Xewton countv. Mis- 
souri, and was the architect for the court 
house at Benton ville. Arkansas, in 1871. 
The following two years were spent in 
Shell)y county, Kentuck}-, and one summer 
was passed at Bedford, Inwa. 

In 1S76 Mr. Ritter returned to Lincoln 
and became connected with the Illinois Asy- 
lum for Feeble Minded Children, ]ia\-ing 
charge of all the machinery and the repair- 
ing of all the buildings. In 1897 '''^ erected 
a barn upon the farm, which was blown 
down in a storm, killing" six of the bovs who 
had sought shelter there. ]Mr. Ritter was 
in the emjiloy of the institution while it was 
under the management of Dr. Williur for 
ten years ; Dr. \\". B. Fish, se\-eral }'ears : 
Dr. Miller, of Lincoln, two years : and Dr. 
J. W. Smith, till April. 1897. the last named 



lia\-ing Ijeen appi.iinted superintendent by 
Go\-ernor Tanner. Since severing his con- 
nection with the asylum in 1897, our sub- 
ject has devoted his attention to horticulture, 
and is now doing a successful business as a 
florist. He has erected large green houses, 
having ten thousand feet of glass, and deals 
in both cut flowers and plants, his wife hav- 
ing charge of their sale. 

In 1859 Mr. Ritter married ]\Iiss Eliza- 
beth Richardson, a native of Spencer county, 
Kentucky, and a daughter of Peter and Rost 
( AIcAllister ) Richardson, who were also 
born in Kentuck}-. Eight children Ijless this 
union, namely: Fanny, at home: Monroe 
J., a resident of Lincoln; Xora. wife of lu- 
lius Goldsmith, of Chicago; Edward E., a 
contractor and Iniilder of Lincoln: Rosa, 
wh(j as a compositor is engaged in maga- 
zine work in Chicago; Maud, wife of Rob- 
ert Dana, of Lincoln ; William, a black- 
smith of Lincoln; and Pearl, at home. The 
family residence is at 846 South State street. 

Socially Air. Ritter is a blaster Mason. 
ha\ing lieen a member of that organization 
since 1857. and politically he is a stanch 
supporter of the Democracy. For four vears 
he was a member of the city council of Lin- 
coln. His pulilic serx'ice has been most ex- 
emplar}-, and his pri\-ate life has been 
marked bv the utmost fidelitv to dutv. 



JOHX O. AIASOX. 

John O. ]\Iason, now li\-ing- a retired life 
in Mt. P\daski. is a \-eteran of the Ci\'il 
w ar and bears an honorable record for brave 
ser\-ice in the cause of freedon-i and union, 
and in the paths of peace he has also won 
an en\-iable reputation through the sterling 
(jualities which go to the making of a good 



402 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



citizen. He was liorn in Alt. Pulaski, July 
21, 1837, \vhen that \-illage was only a year 
old, as it was laid out and platted in 1836. 
His parents, William and Elizabeth (Stone- 
house) Mason, were born, reared and mar- 
ried in Leeds, England, and emigrated to the 
L'nited States in 1830, locating in Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania. They spent a short time 
in that city and then removed to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and from there to Springfield, Illi- 
nois. In 1836 they settled in Logan county, 
where they continued to make their home 
throughout the remainder of their lives. In 
his native land the father had served an ap- 
prenticeship to the carpenter's trade, and on 
the expiration of liis term was presented 1)y 
his employer with a kit of tools, containing 
two hundred different kinds — everything 
needed in his line of work. This kit he 
Ijrought with him to America, and locating 
in ]\It. Pulaski he opened a shop, which he 
conducted for a time. Sul)se(|uently he pur- 
chased a farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres three miles northwest of the village, 
and devoted the remainder of his life to ag- 
ricultural pursuits. He died July 30, 1843, 
and his wife, who long sur\-ived him, passed 
away on the 23rd of March, 1870. In poli- 
tics he was an old-line Whig. 

This worthy couple had a famil}- of eight 
children, five of whom were born in Eng- 
land, and two in Philadelphia, our subject 
being the only one born in tliis county. Their 
names and dates of birth are as follows : 
George, August 19, 1819; Christopher, Oc- 
tober 2, 1820; Thomas, February 7, 1823; 
Jane E.. July 13, 1825; Margaret S., Au- 
gust 13, 1827: Isabella, August 4, 1830; 
Elizabeth. June i, 1835; and John O., June 
21, 1837. 

The subject of this sketch began his edu- 
cation in a log school house which stood on 
the bank of Salt creek, his first teacher being 



Re\-. David Bunn, a Universalist preacher. 
Later he attended school in Mt. Pulaski for 
three terms. He remained on the home farm 
until he was eighteen years of age and then 
commenced work at the carpenter's trade, be- 
ing thus empIo_\-ed when the Civil war broke 
out. 

On the 30th of October, 1861, Mr. Ma- 
son enlisted in Company B, Thirty-second 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel 
John Logan, a cousin of General John A. 
Logan. \\'ith his comn:and he was sent 
to Bird's Point, Missouri, in January, 1862, 
and later took part in the battles of Fort 
Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing 
or Shiloh, and the siege and capture of Cor- 
inth. He participated in the battles of 
Hatchie's Run, in October, 1862, after which 
the command was sent to Fort Gibson, 
ha\'ing marched from Grand Gulf, Mis- 
sissippi, to help guard the gulf. In June, 
1863, they were ordered to Vicksburg, and 
were in the rifle pit seventeen days. After the 
surrentler of Vicksburg they marched to 
Black River, where they engaged General 
Joe Johnston and drove him back across 
Pearl River. They then returned to \'icks- 
burg. Later the regiment \-eteranized at 
Natchez, Mississippi, and in 1864 ]\Ir. Ma- 
son was honorably discharged and returned 
home with a war record of which he may be 
justh- proud. For fifteen years he conducted 
a restaurant in Mt. Pulaski, and since then 
has lived a retired life, enjoying a well 
earned rest. 

Mr. Mason was married October 30, 
1878, to Miss Delila Murray, of Mt. Pu- 
laski, who died November 24, 1893, and in 
i8c)6 he was married again, his second 
union being with Miss Jessie Evans, of the 
same jilace. Politically he has always been a 
stanch Republican, and favored Abraham 
Lincoln's election to the United States sen- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



403 



ate in 1858. and twice voted for him for 
president. He also \'oted for Ricliard Yates, 
tlie war go\ernor, and for iiis son in 1900. 
Fraternally he is an lionored member of 
Sam Walker Post. Xo. 205, G. A. R., of 
Mt. Pulaski, in which he has served as quar- 
termaster for thirteen years and is senior 
vice-commander at the present time. 



HON. EDWARD D. BLINN. 

Edward D. Blinn, one of Lincoln's most 
successful lawyers, who holds a leading 
place among the members of the Logan 
countv bar, was born on the uth of Sep- 
tember, 1844, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, 
of which state his parents, Charles and Le- 
fee H. (Harrington) iSlinn, were also na- 
tives. His paternal grandfather, James 
Blinn, was born in \'ermont, but early 
moved to Canada with his parents and there 
spent his life, his time and attentiijn being 
de\'oted to farming. His ancestors came to 
this country from England during colonial 
days and were among the early settlers of 
New England. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather was \^'illiam Harrington. 

Mr. Blinn acquired his education in the 
public schools and an academv of his native 
town, and later took up the study of law in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, being admitted to the bar 
in that city in 1866. The same year he 
came to Lincoln, Illinois, and opened an 
ofiice for the practice of his chosen profes- 
sion. He has been eminently successful and 
is to-day one of the best known country 
lawyers in the state. He served three years 
as president of the court of claims of the 
state, in which office he acquitted himself 
with marked ability. ]Mr. Blinn has also 
been actively identified with various public 



enterprises, among which may be mentioned 
the water works and electric light companies, 
and he has been president of these corpora- 
tions. For a time he was connected with the 
Lincoln Street Railroad Company, and was 
president of the same until he sold out his 
interest. From this it will be seen that he 
is an enterprising and successful business 
man, as \yell as a lawyer. In the latter ca- 
pacity he is noted for the care with which 
he prepares his cases and for the energy and 
loyalty he displays in protecting the interests 
of his clients. 

In 1869 Mr. Blinn was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Nettie L. Youtsey, of Cold 
Springs, Kentucky, and they have become 
the parents of three children, one son and 
two daughters : Eva B., Annette, and Ed- 
ward D., Jr. 

Mr. Blinn is a prominmt member of 
the Masonic body, being a Knight Templar, 
and is a stanch adherent of the Republican 
party, having for many years taken an active 
])art in political affairs. In 1880 he was a 
delegate to the national convention, which 
met in Chicago and nominated General 
James A. Garfield for the presidency. He 
has ser\-ed as a member of the Republican 
state committee, and has done much to ad- 
vance the interests of his party and insure its 
success. In 1900 he was appiiinted super- 
visor of census of the eleventh district of 
Illinois. In public aft'airs he exerts con- 
siderable influence and is to-day one of the 
most popular citizens of Lincoln. 



SAMUEL C. DAWSON. 

The agricultiu-al interests of Logan 
county are well rejjresented in Samuel C. 
Dawson, who is now operating a fine farm 



404 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of one Imndred and sixt}- acres on section 26, 
Chester township. He is a native of this 
county, his birth having occurred in ]\Iount 
Pulaski township, on the 29th of September, 
1858. His father, Creed H. Dawson, was 
born in Kentucky in 1819, and when a 
A nunc;' man went to Indiana, where he was 
married, July 3, 1839, to Miss Rachel 
Brewer. They made their home in John- 
son county, that state, until coming to Lo- 
gan county, Illinois, about 1856, when they 
took up their residence upon a farm in ]\Iount 
Pulaski township, agriculture being the oc- 
cupation of the father. In their family were 
the following children : Mary wedded John 
Laughlin, who died in 1865. and she sub- 
sec[uently became the wife of Rufus Con- 
well ; Martha is the wife of William Ham- 
ilton, of Chelsea, Kansas; Emma married 
W'illiam Sweet and resides in Morgan Hill, 
California; Sarah first married Lewis Lyon, 
who died in Saginaw, Michigan, and she is 
now the wife of a Mr. Trowbridge, (if thai 
place ; George T. is a resident of Oklahoma ; 
Eliza K. is the wife of Solomon Henrickson, 
of Lincoln, Illinois: John W. died in infan- 
cv in 1858; Samuel C. is next in order of 
birth ; Emery L. died in Kansas in Febru- 
ary, 1900; and Minta E. is the wife of 
George Donaldson, nf ]\lariiin, Kansas. 

The subject of this sketch was reared 
upon his father's farm and attended the dis- 
trict schools of the neighborhood. He re- 
mained at home until he was married, at the 
age of twentv-three ^•ears, to Miss Eliza |. 



Combs. The 1 ml 



Iiild burn uf this union 



died in infancy. After his marriage ]\Ir. 
Dawson remo\ed to Kansas, where he spent 
four years, and nn his return to Logan coun- 
ty, in 1887, located on the farm where he 
now resides, his time and attention being 
devoted to farming and stock raising. 

Since attaining his majority j\Ir. Dawson 



lias always voted the straight Republican 
ticket, and his fellow citizens recognizing his- 
worth and ability elected him supervisor of 
Chester township in 1898. In that office 
he serxed for two years with credit to him- 
self and to the entire satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. He is a liberal and cheerful con- 
tributor to all worthy enterprises for the 
good of his community, and he and his w ife 
are held in the highest regard bv all who 
know them. 



C. VAX GERPEX. 

X"o history of Hartsljurg would Ije com- 
plete withniit extended mention of C. A'an 
Gerpen, the wealthiest and most prominent 
citizen of the town. For twenty-three 
vears he has made his h<inie here and has 
been the promoter of its leading business 
interests, which ha\-e contributed not alone 
to his prosperity but have also laeen of 
marked \-aIue to the community l)v \n-o-( 
moting commercial activity, which is the 
l^asis of all advancement and improxement 
in the world to-day. 

]Mr. Van Gerpen is a native of Germany, 
and possesses the sterling traits of character 
(if the sons of the Fatherland, the sulidity 
of purpose, the close application and un- 
faltering determination. Fie was born 
April 25, 1849, ^ son of Mr. and ]Mrs. Dan- 
iel Yru Gerpen, who always resided in Cjer- 
niany. although their sons all came to 
America, two of them in 1866, one in 1870, 
while the subject of this re\'iew made the 
\'ogage to the new world in 1868. 

In his native land he had ;iC(iuired a fair 
education in the pul)lic schools and had 
learned the shoemaker's trade, and after 
taking- up his abode in Freeport, Illinois, 
whither he went immediatelv after his ar- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



407 



ri\-al in the United States, lie CDmnienced 
work at his trade, also engaging in farm- 
ing for a shcirt time. In 1870 he removed 
to Pekin, Illinois, where he continued shoe- 
making for eight }-ears, and during that 
time he was married. In i87<S he came 
from I'ekin to Hartsburg. He was then a 
po(jr man, and here he opened a shoe shop, 
\\'hich he cc inducted for one year. His 
gciod w (irkmanship secured to him a liberal 
patronage, and iluring that time he saved 
enough to purchase a small stock uf shoes 
and estalilish his present store in 1886. He 
was then located in a small building, but l)y 
economy and industry he was enabled to 
gradualh' increase his financial resomxes, 
and in 1 S98 he erected what is now the 
finest business block in Hartsburg. He 
then began adding to his stock and now has 
a large line of general merchandise of all 
kinds. In lyoi, in connection with his son 
Uaniel and Air. Behrends, they established 
a banking business under the name of the 
Bank of Hartsburg. with a capital stock of 
ten thousand dollars, with B. Behrends as 
president: (.". \'an ( ieri)en, vice-president, 
and Daniel \'an (ierpen as cashier. They 
do a general banking business, and the in- 
stitution has alreadv become a welcome and 
\'alual.)le addition to the business interests 
of the town. A luan of resourceful Ijusi- 
ness ability, our sul)ject has also extended 
his efforts along other lines, and is now a 
member of the firm of C. Van Gerpen & 
Companw dealers and speculators in grain 
of all kinds and owners of a large elevator. 
They also deal in farm implements ami 
wagons, and their sales in that branch of 
their business are verv extensive. 

While in Pekin. .\pril ir. 1872, Mr. 
Van Gerpen married Miss Hilke Roden- 
lieck, a natix'e of Germany, and unto them 

ha\'e been born eight children, six of whom 
22 



are living, namely: Addie, who married 
Henry Bruner and lives in Orvil township: 
Alattie; Daniel; Bertha; Heiuw : and 
Hilda. ;\Ir. Van Gerpen has alwa}s taken 
a deep interest in politics since acquiring the 
right of franchise, and votes witli the Re- 
publican party. He has held the office of 
school treasurer, was chairman of the school 
boartl for some time and has acceptabh' 
served in other local offices. He has justly 
won the proud .Vmerican title of a self-made 
man. Coming to this country empty- 
handed, but possessing courage and deter- 
mination, he has through ])ersistent ef¥ort 
and unfailing honesty, steadily advanced, 
and is now occupying a most enviable posi- 
tion among the substantial citizens of his 
adopted count}". He is certainh- deser\-ing 
of great credit for what he has accom- 
ijlished. 



LEVI COFFMAX. 



Le\-i Coffman, wlio is leading a retired 
life in Eminence township, Logan count\-, 
is one of a family of eleven children born 
to John anil Christina (Brining) Coffman. 
John ColYman, the father, was Ijorn near 
Stuttgart, Province of W'urtengerg, Ger- 
many, in 1796, and Avhen sixteen years of 
age came to the United States and settled 
in Lancaster, Penn.sylvania, where he learn- 
ed the trade of a cooper. .His passage to 
this country was paid b\- Closes Huber. and 
Mr. Coti'man repaid him with the nionev he 
earned at his trade. He continued at this 
occupati(jn in Lancaster until he was twenty- 
one years of age, when he went to Spencer 
county. Kentucky. Here be li\ed luuil 1837. 
working at his trade. At the end n\ this 
time he and his family removed to Clark- 
count)-, Illinois, where he purchased a farm. 



4o8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his boys perfcjrming most (jf the ihuies, 
while the father worked at his trade. In 
Novemlier, 1846. he sold this farm and. 
bought another in Eminence township, Lo- 
gan county, the latter consisting of one hun- 
ilred and tifteen acres, and on ]\Iarch 17. 
1847, lis 'ii'id li's family took up their resi- 
dence thereon. He continued here very suc- 
cessfully until 1854, when, like many nthers, 
lie desired to go west and consequentl}' he 
disposed of his property and purchased one 
hundred and twenty acres in northern ]\Iis- 
soin"i. In 1856 he again returned to Logan 
count}-, where he purchased one hundred 
acres in Atlanta township. Here he spent 
the remainder of his life, his death occur- 
ing in Xo\ember, 1867. 

Le\'i Coffman, our subject, was Ijorn in 
'S])encer county, Kentucky, ^larch 2. 1832, 
and came when a small Iioy with his parents 
to Illinois. His preliminary education was 
obtained from the country schools, and be- 
ing of an industrious nature he spent his 
evenings studying" history and other good 
books which wnuld help to (le\'e]np his mind. 
He reiuained on the farm with his father un- 
til he was thirty-three years of age, and in 
the spring of 1865 he engaged in the same 
occupation for himself in Eminence town- 
ship, where he has since remained. 

Our subject's farm consists of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres of highly improxed 
land, antl is five and (jne-half miles from 
Atlanta, where he is spending his declining 
years. 

On August 9, 1862, he pro\-eil his ])a- 
triotism Ijy enlisting in Companv !•", One 
Hundred and .Sixtieth Illinois \'olunteer 
Infantry. For three years he experienced the 
hardshiiis of a soldier and was honorably tlis- 
charged August 6, 1865. 

On December 16, 1858, 'Mr. Coffman led 
to the marriage altar Miss ^largaret Dos- 



baugh, whose parents were originally from 
Prussia. This imion resulted in the birth 
of five children, namel}- : Sarah .\., born 
October 28, 1859, is the wife of B. F. Fi.sher, 
who is a well-to-do farmer of McLean coun- 
t_\' : John F. was b(jrn ;\Iay 2, 1861 ; A. C. 
was born July 15, 1866; Robert was born 
March 26, 1876; and Laura B. was born 
I\Iarch 2, 1883. The mother of these chil- 
dren -was of a highly respected Prussian fam- 
ily, and was well thought of by all who 
knew her. She was born in November, 
1827, and died in May, 1900, and her re- 
mains were interred in Oklahoma. 

l\Ir. Coffmaii and three of his children 
are sincere memljers of the Christian church, 
as was also his wife. Politicallv he is a sup- 
porter of tlie Democratic ticket. After 
a pure, honoralile and useful life, actu- 
ated by unselfish motives, prompted by 
patriotism and guided by truth and justice^ 
Mr. Coffman well deserves the high regard 
in which he is uniformly held by his fellow 
citizens. The name "Coffman"' is well known 
throughout the coimty and our suliject is 
noted for his kind and pleasing manner. 



li 



RE\". \\ILLIA:\I M. MURRAY. 

Re\-. ^^'illiam M. Murray is the present 
pastor of tlie Cumberland Presbyterian 
church at 13e \\'itt, Illinois, but makes his 
h(,)me in Beason, Logan county, wiiere he i.s 
successfully engaged in business as a dealer 
in Iniggies, farm implements, etc. He was 
born on the i st of June, 1 844, in Bond 
county, Illinois, and is a son of William and 
Amanda J. ( Harris) ]\Iurray, the former a 
native of Virginia, the latter of Kentucky. 
The luother died in Illinois. Otu" subject's 
grandfather, Morgan Murray, made his 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



409 



home in the Old Dominiun, where he ched on 
liis return frnm the Revolutionary war from 
wounds received in the service. 

Mr. ^Murray of this review accjuired but 
a limited education in the schools of Bond 
and Fayette counties as he was obliged to 
help in the support of the family during his 
early life. On reaching manhood he engaged 
in the stock business and took contracts for 
o"etting out railroad ties, being thus employed 
until he was ordained a minister of the Cum- 
l/crland Presbyterian church by the Rev. ]\I. 
A. Marlon, of Fairfield, Illinois, Septeml>er 
27, 1875. Immediately thereafter he was in- 
stalled as pastor of the church at Fairfield, 
where he remained in charge of the congre- 
gation for twelve years. Subsecpiently he 
filled one or two minor positions, and in i88g 
was called to the church at Owensville, In- 
diana, where he was pastor until ]\Iay, 1897. 
As a preacher lie has been \ery successful, 
being a man of pleasing presence and com- 
manding wavs, as well as a good orator, and 
his loss to the congregation at Owensville 
has been greatly regretted. He came to 
Beason to accept the pastorate of a much 
larger congregation, where he believed he 
could do more good. Here he continued as 
])astor until .\iM-il, 1901, when he resigned. 
He has been identified with the De Witt 
church since the 2d of ]\lay, 1901. The 
congregation numbers two hundred and fifty 
families, and here Mr, !\lurray has done ex- 
cellent work. 

On Xo\"ember 30. 18O5. Mr. [Murray 
married ]Miss Anna Green, a daughter of 
Edmond Green, of Tennessee, ami tliey be- 
came the parents of nine children, of whom 
six surxive, namely: ]\Iaggie L. ; Rov W'., 
who married Aliss L. Keys, daughter of 
J. J. Ke}s, deceased: Florence: Loretta ; 
Anna : and Carrie. The children have been 



reared in the Cumberland Presbyterian be- 
lief and are a family of which any parents 
might well be proud. 

Fraternally Mr. Murray is a Royal 
Arch Mason, and is also a member of the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the 
Grand Army of the Republic. During the 
Civil war he was one of the defenders of the 
old flag and the cause it represented, being 
a member of Companv D, Xinety-eighth 
Illinois Mounted Infantry, under command 
of Captain Flood, and served with distinc- 
tion until hostilities ceased, being honora- 
bly discharged September 18, 1865. He en- 
listed in March, 1864. Politically he affili- 
ates with the Republican party. He has 
been a delegate to the general assembly of 
his church four dift'erent times, and since en- 
tering the ministry has given most of his 
tune to his pastoral duties. In the pulpit he 
is especially gifted on account of his ora- 
torial ability and his pleasing deliverv. His 
discourses are scholarly and effective in 
their appeals to f(jllow the Master, and he 
is held in high esteem not only bv the peo- 
ple of his own congregation, but by the 
residents of De Witt and Beason generallv. 



\\'ILLIAM X. BROCK. 

One of the oldest and most honored pio- 
neers of Atlanta township is the gentleman 
whose name introduces this review. He is 
a Hoosier by liirth, having been born in In- 
diana, Sei)teml)er 13, 1S29, Init dur- 
ing his infancy was lirought to IIH- 
onis Ijy his parents, Andrew and Han- 
nah (Richards) Brock. His father was a 
native of Xorth Carolina, and when a mere 
boy removed with liis parents to Ohio. 



4IO 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Later he went to Indiana, and in 1829 came 
to Illinois, making his home first in Sanga- 
mon county, settHng at Funk's ( Jrove, wliich 
is now in McLean county. Here he Hved 
one year and at the entl of tins time he re- 
mo\ed to Logan coimt}- and settled at Big 
(jro\e, now called Kickapoo Tiniher, where 
he was numliered among the pioneers. By 
occupatiiin he was a l)lacksmith, hax'ing 
learned that trade in early life. He died 
near Wapello. De Witt cnunty, in March, 
]8()_^. and his wife passed away in Wa\iies- 
ville, in :\Iardi, 1858. 

William .\'. iSrock was hut a child in 
arms when his people remo\ed to Logan 
county antl here he was reared amid pioneer 
f^cenes. Few can realize the hardships that 
the first settlers of this section had to go 
thriugh. In the .\tlanta Argus, dated .Sep- 
tember 20, lyoi, we hnd an interesting ac- 
count of a hirthday party that was held at 
the home nf our suhject, and fi),im it we 
copy the fullciwing: "The nearest mills at 
that time were at Springfield and I'eoria, 
and tn one or the other of these the elder 
Brock had to go fur all his grinding. He 
was a poor man and his children grew up 
in the simplest and ])lainest st_\les of pioneer 
life. W. X. went without slides ur head 
wear until iptite a large buy. but in s|)ite (_>f 
these pi)i\'atiuns he was out at .all seasons 
and in all kinds of weather with as much 
freedom as thcaigh he possessed biith. l'.:ire 
fool and bare headed and witlmut under- 
wear or mittens he would spend whole days 
skating with the older hoys at the pond two 
miles from his hunie. lie gut his first hat 
and shoes when twelxe years cild and was 
very proud of them, but lost his hat while 
dri\'ing an ox team to the Afackinaw Mills, 
in co,nipau\ with his father. The Kicka])oo 
Indian trail run cluse to the Brlick home and 
W. X. can remember their camp, which was 



located near the Moot's place, three miles 
east of what is known as Fair\-iew church. 
WiiK'cs were numerous and sometimes sax- 
age, though they seldom attacked anyone 
imless maddened by hunger. One day a 
ueighljor of the Brocks was attacked b\' a 
pack of li\e wolves near the Kickapoo. fhe 
man fought them off with his hat while 
backing into the creek, as the only means 
of escape. In those days the most com- 
fortalile and r^.ipid way uf tra\-el was by 
stage. One of these lines ran from Spring- 
tield to Chicago, ])assing near the Brock 
farm. There was a statinn at the James 
Hoblit farm, not far from the preseiit site 
of Atlanta, and one at Willi.am Hnick's 
place in Funk's Grove." 

The education of our subiect was limited 
as his sersices were needed at hume during 
his bovhood to assist in the operation of the 
farm, and on leax'ing the parental roof he 
choose farming as his life wi.irk. l'>\- hard 
wiirk, perseverance and good management, 
he succeedetl in acquiring a handsome pro])- 
e.rty, owning at one time four hundred and 
sixty-tlu'ee acres of aralile and |)ri)ducti\e 
land, but has since given to each of his four 
sons a farm, retaining, however, a place of 
eightv acres in .-\tlanta township, as a Imme 
for himself and wife, who in their declining ) 
\ears are enjoying the comforts that earnest ■ 
lal)or has brought them. Mr. Brock still 
has all his ])r()pert\- in his own name, the 
sons mei'ch' pa\nig the taxes and ha\ ing the 
income from the land. 

On the 8th of Jainiary, 1850, Mr. ISmck 
married ]\liss l-~rances Scott, whose birth- 
place \\as in the state of Xew York, and 
wild died in i8fi2, I'^ive children were l)orn 
dl this unidii. nanieh- : .Sarah C ; .\ndrew ; 
Jdhn D. ; Stephen 1). and M;u-y. 

Mr. Brock was again mar.ried in Se])tein- 
ber, 18^13. his second union being with Mrs. » 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



411 



Kathenne (Arnold) Robinson, who WuS 
horn January ! 1. 1829. Init in October of tlie 
same \ear her ])arents emigrated from Ohio 
til tliis state, and settled in what is now De- 
W'itt county. Here he took up a claim 
where old Hallsxille nnw stands, erected a 
liio- cabin and rosided there almut three years. 
He then settled near Bloomington. 1!\' 
tratle he was a shoemaker and in addition 
to his farming- operations he worked at his 
trade. Later he mo\ed tn ]'\mk"s Grove 
and here Mrs. Brock attended her first 
.school. From there Mr. .Vr'iiold mo\ed to 
' Alton and still later tu the sontherii mrt of 
Wisconsin. From there he went to Califor- 
nia and his children returned to Atlanta. He 
remained in (California about fifteen years 
and on his return east lie made his home with 
his children the balance nf his life, dying at 
the home of his son William in the village 
I if McLean. By Mrs. Brock's first mar- 
riage to Mr. Robinson she became the 
miither nf three children, namely: Henry 
A.: Mary A., now Mrs. John Oldaker : and 
George L. ^Ir. Robinson was a cooper by 
trade and the\' spent most of their married 
life in .\tlanta. He died in i<S62. 

Mr. and Airs. Brock ar); the parents of 
fi\'e children, namely : Hannah, who died 
at the age oi three years; Maud, an accom- 
])lislied young lady and a pianist of e.xcep- 
tional ability, who passed away in Decern - 
lier, i8c)3, at the age of twenty-four; two. 
who died in infanc\' ; and William F., the 
i-nly remaining child, who is also a fine nui- 
>ician. 

Mr. Bnick has Ijeen identified with pub- 
lic afl;'airs as road commissioner in liis town- 
shi]) and school director, holding tlie latter 
office a numbei' of years. Politically he is 
a strong Democrat. lie is imt only a kind 
and indulgent fatiier. but is noted fur his 
generosity, and at all times is ready to as- 



sist any enterprise having for its object the 
good of the community in which he has so 
long made his hmne. His upright cnurse in 
life commands the respect of all and his la- 
bors as one of the founders of the count)' 
justly entitles him to a prominent place in its 

histiirw 

♦-•-♦ 



S. J. WOL.VXD. 

For fifteen rears a well known and prom- 
inent practitioner at the bar of Lincoln and 
now a representative farmer and stock-raiser 
of Logan count}-. Air. W'nland well deserve.-; 
n-iention in this volume. Perhaps every state 
in the L'nion has furnished its quota of citi- 
zens to Illinois, and from Pennsylvania 
comes the subject of this re\-iew. who was 
born in Lycoming county, that state, Feb- 
ruary 19, 1843. His parents, Solomon and 
Catherine ( Radel ) Woland, were also na- 
tives ijf the same couiit\- and there the father 
resided until he remo\-ed w-estw-ard w-itli his 
faniil}-. first taking up his abode in Indiana, 
where he remained for a short time. In 1S55 
he located in Bloomingdale, Logan count'-, 
Illinois, where he remained until the autumn 
of that year, when lie w-ent to Orndcrff Alills, 
where he engaged in farming until 1856—- 
the year of his removal to section 25, Orvil 
township. Upon the farm which he there 
de\-eloped and improved he made his home 
thniughi lut his remaining da\-s. He pur- 
chased the land at twelve and fourteen dol- 
lars per acre, but it is now very valual)le. 
His wife died AJarcli 22. 1880, and his death 
occurred l-"ebruary 14, 18S6. Tliev had six; 
children; Louisa, the widow of Joseph 
Hilcher and a resident of Lincoln; .\delia. 
who married .Xipiilla ilreech, but bnth are 
now deceased ; Catherine, who died in Penn- 
s\-l\-ania ; I'^manuel. who diefl in Hartslnirg 



412 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Septemljer 25. 1891; Susan, who- resides 
^^•itl^ licr sister in Lincoln; and Solomon J. 

In the public schools of llliiK^is S. J- 
^^'oland acquired his preliminary education, 
wliicli was supplemented by stutly in tlie 
Eureka College, of Eureka, Illinois. Think- 
ing to enter professional life, he took up the 
study of law with Colonel Lynch, of Lincoln, 
as his preceptor. At length admitted to the 
bar, he 1>egan practice in Lincoln, where he 
remained for fifteen years and his knowledge 
of the ]irinciples of jurisprudence, his carefu.l 
preparation of cases and his skill in argument 
won him a leading position among the mem- 
bers of the legal fraternity. He found the 
profession congenial and his wurk ])r()fital)le, 
l)ut (Ml account of ill health he was oblige>l 
to abandon the law and took up his abode on 
his present farm. belie\'ing that the out-door 
life would iirove beneficial. He now owns 
two hundred and fifty-fi\'e acres of land and 
carries on general farming, his land being 
under a higli state of cultivation and im- 
jiroxed with all inndern accessories and con- 
veniences. I'^ields of waxing grain, fine stock 
and the air of neatness and thrift which pre- 
vades the ])lace all indicate his careful sujjer- 
vision and his progressive spirit. 

Mr. \Voland was united in marriage to 
Miss Carrie Hall, of W'oodford county. Illi- 
nois, a daughter of Timothy Hall, who is 
conducting a feed vard in Lincoln. They 
ha\-e two children. Frank R. and Maude AT. 
Mr. Woland is now ser\-ing as school di- 
rector and has been thus dfiicially cimnected 
with the management of the schools for 
some time. Wliile ]iracticing law he serx-ed 
for two terms as prosecuting attornev. So- 
cially he is connected with the Knights of 
Pythias lo<lge in Lincoln, while in religious 
belief his wife is a Baptist, belonging to the 
clnu'ch of that denominatiun at the counts' 
seat, lie has e\er lieen a loyal and public- 



spirited citizen, and during the Ci\-il war 
ga\e evidence of his patriotic spirit by en- 
listing in the spring of 1864 as a member of 
Company 1), One Hundred and Forty-fifth 
Illinois Infantrv, under Ca])tain Chm"ch and 
Colonel Lacke\-, the latter of Bloomingtoii. 
The company participated in an engagement 
against Price, at Raleigh, ^Missouri, and 
there our suljject was taken ill, remaining in 
the hospital for six weeks. He then re- 
turned to the comijany, which was not again, 
engaged in active battle l)Ut did some skir- 
mishing with the bushwhackers. He was 
discharged at Sjiringfield, Illinois, in Sep- 
tember, 1865, and then returned home. He 
now belongs to Leo IMvers Post, No. 182, 
G. A. R., of Lincoln. He }et gives some 
slight attention to law business, but devotes 
the major part of his time to- farming. Long- 
a resident of the county, he is widely known 
and the fact that those who have known him 
from boyhood are numbered among his 
stanchest friends is unmistakably evidence 
that his life has e\'er been upright an.l 
wortli\- of high regard. 



F.DW.Xki) L. MOUXTJOY. 

This well-known and energetic farmer 
of Eminence township is one of Logan coun- 
ty's native sons, his entire life having been 
passed upon his present farm. 1 le has made 
his special field of industr\- a success, and is 
highly respected and esteemed by those whii 
know him best. 

William Mountjoy. the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Kentuckx* June 2g. 182J. 
and was a son of Ned Mountjoy. who was 
commonlv known bv his man\- friends as 
L'ncle Neddie. The latter came to Logan 
count\-. Illinois, in i'8.^4. and as a blacksmith 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



413 



successfully engaged in business here for 
many years, being able to give all bis cbil- 
dren a good start in life. Politically be was 
originally a W'big, but after hearing Abra- 
ham Lincoln address an audience be became 
a strong Republican, and affiliated with that 
part}- up to the time of his death. 

The father of our subject was a lad of 
fourteen years when die family came to this 
county. .After reaciiing manhood be en- 
gaged in farming. In 1878-9 be and an 
elder half-bnither conducted a store in Ar- 
ming-ton, Tazewell county, two years, and 
from there removed to Eminence townshi]), 
Logan county, where he followed farming 
throughout the remainder of bis life, dying 
there April 9, 1894. He was rather a stern 
man, noted for his sound judgment and good 
liusiness ability, and be handsomely pro- 
vided for bis entire family prior to his death. 
He was twice married, bis first wife laeing 
Miss Sina V. Thompson, who died Sep- 
tember 26, i8G'o, and by that union there 
were born eight children. He was again 
married, to Miss Elvina Thompson, who was 
born in Logan county in 1834, and was one 
of a family of three children. Her father 
was David Thompson, a farmer by occupa- 
tion. Mrs. Moimtjoy died on the old home- 
stead where our subject now resides March 
10, 1898. She was the mother of ime child, 
Edward L., of this re»iuew. 

Mr. Mountjoy, our subject, was born 
July 27, 1863, on the old homestead, on sec- 
tion 35, Eminence tnwnsbip, where he now 
lives, and acquired his education in the dis- 
trict school of the neighborhood and the 
higher schools at Atlanta. During his 
minority he gave his father the Ijenefit of 
bis lalwrs upon the home farm, and at the 
age of twenty-one commenced operating the 
farm on his own account. He has since 
made numerous impnixenients, which add 



greatly to the value and attractive appear- 
ance of the place. It con.sists of three hun- 
dred and sixtj'-one acres of the best farm- 
ing land in Eminence township, and under 
the skillful management of our subject yields 
bountiful harvests in return for the care 
and labor bestowed upon it. 

On the 1st of January, 1884, Mr. ]\Iount- 
jo}- married Miss Laura I. Atteberry, a 
daughter of John A. Atteberry, of Campaign 
county, Illinois, and they now ba\-e four 
children: Xellie ]\I., born Feliruary 27, 
1886: J(,hn W'., born February 12, 1888; 
Clinton L., born April 14, i8go; and Hazel 
B., born June 16, 1900. The family are con- 
nected with the Christian church, and Mr. 
]\Iountjoy is alsO' a meml)er of the Inde- 
])endent Order of Odd Fellows and the Alod- 
ern \\'oodmen of America. His ])olitical 
support is always gi\-en the men and meas- 
ures of the Republican party, but he has 
ne\'er sought political honors, preferring to 
gi\-e his undivided attention to his farming 

interests. 

■» » » 

HARTMAX STUMPF. 

One of the representative business firms 
of Xew Holland is that of Stumpf & Ches- 
nut, who conduct a large general hardware 
business, and who, by their correct and u])- 
to-date financial methods and unremitting 
tact and desire to please, have won the con- 
fidence of the general public and a fnremost 
])lace in the community. The partnership 
between Hartman Stumpf and David X. 
Chestnut was consummated in 1893. and has 
been amicably continued ever since. The 
firm carry a complete line of hardware, farm 
implements, buggies and wagons, and gen- 
eral necessities along this line, their goods 
being stricth' first class and selected w ith due 



414 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



regard to the liest interests of patrons and 
of general business integrity. 

Tlie family of which ^Ir. Stunijif is a 
memher are of German birth and ancestry, 
liis father. Gottleib Stumpf. ha\ing been 
born in Germany, where he was reared and 
educated. He came to America in 184J and 
located in Ohio, where he farmed success- 
fully untd his removal to Sheridan township, 
Logan county, Illinois, in 1865. In Illinois 
he repeated his former success at stock-rais- 
ing, and at his death, in the fall of 1865, had 
not only attained to an honored ])lace in the 
coiunnmity but had as well accumulated a 
fair showing- of worldly possessions. His 
wife, Mary 1). (Hoffman) Stumpf, was the 
mother of six children, of whom two only 
snr\i\-e. 

.\fter the father's death the family re- 
moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where the si.in, 
Hartman. who was born in Ohio, May 25. 
1854, assisted to the Ijest of his ability in the 
support of the familw IIa\"ing recei\ed a 
good education in the ]niblic schools of Ohio, 
as well as a tine agricultural training upon 
his father's farm in the same state, he was 
well equipped fm" whate\'er the future might 
lu.)ld. I'pon attaining to manhotal he left 
Lafayette ami returned to Xew Holland, 
where he worked on farms for some months, 
suljscquently settling in the town, where his 
services were in demand li}- James Ryan, 
who conducted a hardware business. Dur- 
ing the se\'era] _\'ears spent with this firm 
he gained a wide exjierience and knowledge 
of ever_\- phase of the hardware business, 
and started in business with Mr. Chesnut 
with justihablv bright bojies for the fvUure. 

The marriage oi Mr. Stumpf and ]Miss 
Alice INlowen occurred February 7, 1S99, 
and of this iniion there is one child, Cath- 
erine ?vl., who was l:>orn I'ebruary \o. igoT. 
The familv are members of the Catholic 



church, and Air. Stumpf affiliates with the 
Republican jiarty. He is fraternalh- a 
WDodman of the \\ orld. 



HENXIXG H. XOTTELMAXX. 

Prominent among the representative and 
substantial business m^n of Latham is 
Henning H. Xottelmann, a dealer in all 
kinds of lumber, sash, doors, blinds, lath, 
shingles, jiaints and oils. He was born in 
Xiantic. Illinois, on the 12th of October, 
1876, and is of German descent. His fa- 
ther, Hermann Xottelmann, was Iiorn in 
Meldorf. Ciermany, October ,^8, 1840, and 
Axas reared and educated in his native land, 
where he also serxed an apprenticeship in 
the general mercantile business. On com- 
ing to the L^nited States in 1864. he first 
located in Chicago, where he was employed 
as clerk in the store of Charles Gossage & 
Companx- for several years. In 1872 he re- 
moved to Xiantic. where he embarked in 
business f\)r himself, forming a partnership 
with Henning Jacobsen. under the firm 
name of Xottelmann & Jacobsen. They 
hax'e laiilt up a good trade and are still en- 
gaged in merchandising at X^iantic. it being 
one of the oldest firms of the place. At one 
time Mr. Xottelmann was also interested in 
the banking lousiness, and is to-day exten- 
si\el}' interested in the lumber business in 
l>artnership with his sons. He first estab- 
lished a x'ard at \\'arrensl)urg. Illinois, of 
which his son. J. H. Xottelmann. is a part- 
ner and manager, and in 189Q he started the 
yard at Latham, of which our subject now 
has charge as partner and manager. Be- 
sides his business property the father owns 
several fine farms, and is to-day one of the 
most suljstantial men of Xiantic. His sue- 




HENNING H. NOTTELMANN. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



417 



cess in life is due entirely to his own well- 
directed efforts, and the prosperity that has 
come to him is hut the just reward of his 
industrv. jjerseverance and good business 
abilitv. He was married in Xiantic to 
Miss .\nna Jacobsen. a daughter of Hen- 
ning Jacobsen. Sr. She is also a native of 
Germany, and was a young lady when she 
came with her parents to the new world. 
The family resided for a short time in Chi- 
cago, but after the terrible fire in that city. 
in October. 1871. in which they lost their 
property, they removed to Xiantic. ^Ir. 
and Mrs. Xottelmann have seven children, 
three sons and four daughters, of whom 
Henning H. is fifth in order of birth. 

Our subject grew to manhood in Xi- 
antic. and received the regulation common 
school education, lieing graduated from the 
])ul3lic schools of that place. At the age 
of eighteen he accepted a position as Ixiok- 
keeper in a planing mill in Chicago, where 
he remained about two years and a half. 
He was next connected with a grain house 
at Tuscola, Illinois, and while not a mem- 
ber of the firm had the greater part of the 
business to attend to. After a year in this 
connection he removed to Latham in 1899. 
and in partnership with his father purchased 
the lumber yard located there. ' Since tak- 
ing control of the business he has erected 
better and more extensive shedding, and in 
other ways has enlarged his facilities until 
he has made it a flourishing concern. He is 
a wide-awake, energetic young business 
man. and bids fair to occupy a prominent 
position in commercial circles. 

On the 25th of September. 1901, Mr. 
Xottelman was united in marriage with 
IMiss Delia ^I. Culp. of Warrensburg. Illi- 
nois. She is a native of Macon county, and 
a daughter of Henry S. and Alice ( Stine- 
liaugh ) Culp. whi:i were born in Ohio, and 



are now living upon a farm in Macon coun- 
ty, this state. In politics Mr. Xottelmann 
is a stanch Republican, and always aflili- 
ates with that party. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic Lodge. X'o. 853, of 
Latham, and the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of 
America at Xiantic. He has already made 
many warm friends in Latham, and is held 
in the highest regard by all who know him. 



XAXKE T. RADEMAKER. 

One of the very prosperous and highly 
respected farmers of Orvil township. Logan 
county. Illinois, is Xanke T. Rademaker, 
who resides on section 6. where he rents a 
fine farm from the old Scully estate, but is 
the owner of an excellent farm on sections 
;^^ and 34. this township. He has resided 
in Logan county since 1S72. He is a na- 
tive of Germany, where he was born on 
May 9, 1834. His parents were Tobias and 
Kate (Dick.son) Rademaker. both of Ger- 
many, who came to America in 1869. They 
first settled near Freeport. Stephenson coun- 
ty, Illinois, where the father worked as a 
laborer on farms for three years and then 
mo\ed to Logan county and leased a farm in 
Orvil township, where he resided eight 
years. He later moved to the village of 
Emden. where he now lives retired, aged 
eighty-five years of age, while the mother is 
eighty-three years old. But two children 
were Ix^rn to them, namely : X'anke T. ; 
and Llfert. who resides in Emden and is a 
prominent merchant of that village, being 
engaged in a general mercantile business. 

Our subject was married, in Germany, 
to ^liss Carrie Lincoln, and six children 
have been born to them, nameh" : Tobias, 



4i8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



who married Annie ^^'eavers and lives in 
Orvil township, wliere he is engaged in 
farming; Remer, who married ]\Iaggie Toll 
and is also a farmer of Or\"il township : Kate, 
who married Claus ,\lberts and li\'es on a 
farm in Prairie Creek township. Logan 
county ; Alary, who married K. Harms and 
lives in Tazewell county, Illinois; L'lfert 
and Carrie, both at home. 

.\fter liis marriage Mr. Rademaker rent- 
ed a farm in Orvil township, where he re- 
sided until iS8o, when he leased his presen.t 
farm of one hundred and sixty-four acres 
near Emden village and here carries on gen- 
eral farming. He also owns a fine farm of 
one hundred and twenty acres on sections ^^ 
and 34, Orvil township, which he rents. He 
has had several excellent offers to enter 
other lines of business, but he .prefers farm- 
ing. 

In politics he is a stanch Republican and 
has been honored by election to several of 
the township offices, the duties of which he 
has discharged in a highly acceptable man- 
ner. Both he and his excellent wife are 
earnest members of the German Lutheran 
church of Emden. in which, as in their own 
cjmmunit}', tliey are highly regarded. 



PROFESSOR ALEXANDER 
THOMPSON. 



S. 



One of the most proficient teachers of 
music in this section of the state is Professor 
Alexander Stewart Thompson, director of 
the Conservatory of Alusic connected with 
Lincoln College of James ^Nlillikin L'ni- 
versity, Lincoln, Illinois. He was born April 
8, t859, on the historic batttle ground of 
Falkirk, Scotland, where ^^'illiam Wallace, 
the noble Scottish chief, fought his last los- 



ing fight, and Bonnie Prince Charley de- 
feated Hawley's dragoons and the English 
forces. He received his literary education 
in the common schools and academies of his 
native land, and gained his first knowledge 
of mi'.sic in a church choir. He came to the 
United States in 1875 and for four years 
stuf'ied voice and piano under that well- 
knovi n veteran among Xew England music 
teachers, Fritz Zuchtmann, of Springfield, 
"* Jassarhusetts. 

Professor TlKimpsim then accepted the 
position of precentor in the Sta/je Street 
Presbyterian church of Albany, Xew York, 
and later was director of music in the Sara- 
toga Springs pul.)lic schools for three years. 
Furtlier study of a special character was 
pursued under Alberto Laurence, a well- 
known opera baritone of Xew York : imder 
William Ccmrtne\', that 'most successful,, 
genial oratio singing teacher, who had been 
a pupil of Vannucini. Florence, Italy; and 
under Kelscn, and \\'illiam H. Sherwtxid, 
the great pianist. 

After spending three years at Utica, 
X'ew York, Professor Tliompson accepted 
the position of director of music in the Kan- 
sas State X^ormal, and later spent one year 
in the Ladies College of Xorfolk. In 1892 
he and his wife went to England, and de- 
\'oted a year to special study in Londmi un- 
der such men as Sims Reeves, of the (iuild- 
hall School of Music, — that most notable of 
great tenor artists, who studied under 
Bordogni in Paris and Alazzucato in Milan, 
Italy, and was a contemporary of the great 
tenors, Mario and Brignoli. Professor 
Thompson also studied fugue and counter- 
point under Dr. Francis E. Gladstone, cf 
. the Royal College of ]\Iusic, London. 

On their return to the United States he 
and liis wife were engaged for the Cortland, 
X'^ew York, festiwal in conjunction with such 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



419. 



artists as Clementine de \'ere-Sapi(:). Will- 
iam Rieger and Maud Powell, the famous 
violinist. Professor Thompson has given 
recitals or sung in almost all of the import- 
ant cities in Xew York state, including Xew 
York city. In January, 1894, he again lo- 
cated in Utica, where he was connected with 
the Utica School of Music and the Oneida 
Conser\atnr\". For two years he was solo 
baritone and director of the First Presby- 
terian church choir of Utica, and held a high 
priced contract to supply a quartette and 
organist for that church. He was also hon- 
ored by the Xew York State Music Teach- 
ers Association by being a])pointed vice- 
president for Oneida county. 

Professor Thompson has been a contrib- 
utor on musical subjects to Werner's Voice 
Magazine of Xew York, and made a number 
of translations for the same. While in Lon- 
don he was a regular correspondent of that 
magazine. He has also contributed to the 
Xew Yiirk Musical Courier and the "]Music" 
magazine of Chicago. He has had a num- 
ber of compositions published and has many 
more in manuscript. Among his publishers 
are Oliver Ditson, The American Choir, 
John Church Companv and Breitkopf & 
Haertell, of Leipsic and Xew York. At the 
conunencement exercises of Lincoln Uni- 
versity in June, Tgoi, Professor Tlmmpson 
produced an oratorio entitled "Lazarus" 
with orchestra, organ and piano accompani- 
ment and chorus under his own direction, 
which met with the highest commendation 
lri;ni the press and musical circles of Lin- 
Cdln. 

In 1897 Professor Thompson came ti) 
Lincciln. Illinois, as director of music in Lin- 
coln University as it was then known, and 
is still filling that position. In teaching the 
art of singing- and voice production he uses 
man\- well authenticated exercises of the 



historic old Italian school, as well as those 
of the modern school, called sometimes the 
school of Rossini, and a series of exercises 
set to words, composed by himself, in wdiich 
he emlxjdies the principles learned from the 
above mentioned famous teachers and in his 
own scientific research. He teaches piano, 
harmony, voice culture and artistic singing. 
Since coming to Lincoln the Professor and 
his wife have given their entertainment, 
"Sparks," in Lincoln, Mattoon and Danville, 
Illinois : Princeton, Indiana ; and George- 
town and Utica. Xew "^'ork, where the press 
bestowed upon them the highest compli- 
ments. Professor and ]\Irs. Thompson are 
memliers of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church, Lincoln, of which he is chorister. 



MRS. CLARA D. TH0:MP.S0X. 

Mrs. Clara D. Thompson, wife of Pro- 
fessor A. S. Thompson, whose sketch ap- 
pears aboA'e, was born September 25, 1866, 
in Charles City, Iowa, but sj^ent most of her 
girlhood in central Xew Y(n-k, her education 
Iieing acquired in the public schools and at 
Cazenovia Seminarv, Cazenovia, Xew York, 
where she was graduated. \\'hile attending 
school there she ga\-e special attention to the 
stud}' of organ, voice and piano. At first it 
was her intention to make a specialty of 
organ playing, but her voice developed so 
magnificentlv that she was offered an e.x- 
cellent jx)sition as solo soprano in the L^ni- 
versity Avenue ^lethodist Episcopal church 
at Syracuse, Xew York, and meeting wit'a 
success she continued as a vocalist. She pur- 
sued her vocal studies under leading teach- 
ers in both Syracuse and Utica, and sang 
frequently in the towns and cities of central 
X'ew York. After singing two ^'ears in 



420 



THF PTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Syracuse she was offered a fine position in 
the Dutch Reformed church of Utica. where 
she was singing- at tlie time of her marriage. 
Resigning her position in that city. Mrs. 
Thompson went with lier hushand to Kan- 
sas and Ijecame vocal instructor in tlie Kan- 
sas State Normal Scho<il. While there she 
sang in the Congregational church of Em- 
poria. Later she was solo soprano in the 
Freemason Street Methodist Episcopal 
church of Norfolk, Virginia, and was nuisic- 
al instructor in the Ladies College cf that 
city for one year. Going abroad she studied 
one year in London at the Guildhall School 
of Music under the gre?^ and renowned 
artist. Sims Reeves, who desire her tn re- 
main in England to sing oratorio. 

(_)n returning to this country ]\Irs. 
Thompson sang with great success at the 
Cortland, New York, Musical Festival in 
Rheinberger's "Clarice of Eberstein" with 
Madame Clementine de Vere-Sapio. She 
also sang in New York and other principal 
cities of that state. For almost four years 
she was solo singer in the First Presbyterian 
church of Ctica. and was vocal teacher at 
Houghton Seminary, Clinton. New Y(irk. 
for several \'ears resigning that position to 
come to Lincoln, Illinois, as instructor in 
vocal nnisic in the Lincoln Uni\-ersity. Airs. 
Thompson serves as organist and chorister 
in Trinity Episcopal church of Lincoln and is 
also at the head of the musical department 
of the Lincoln Woman's Club. She was a 
great favorite in the summer concerts given 
at the Earlington, Ritchfield Springs, New 
York. 

Tn their chosen lines of work it is con- 
ceded bv e\erv one who is in a position to 
judge that both Professor and Mrs. Thomp- 
son are without superiors and indeed lew 
equals in this section of the country. At 



every place where their work has been seen 
they ha\'e received high commendation from 
persons C(jmpetent to judge such matters. 



JOHN T. ?vIOUNTJOY. 

John I. Mountjoy, a worthy representa- 
tive of one of the wealthiest and most hon- 
ored families of Eminence townsbiji, was 
bcn-n i-'ebruary lo, 1853. near his ])resent 
farm on section i,^. that township, his par- 
ents being \\'iniam and Sina W ( Thom])son 
Mountjoy, who had ten children. After the 
death of the mother, which occurred Sc])- 
tember 26, i860, the father married Aliss 
I-!l\-ina Thompson, bv whom he had one son. 
William Mountjoy was born in Kentucky 
June Jt). 1822. and at an early age came ti> 
Logan county. Illinois, his home being on 
section 35. iMuinence township, for many 
years. The greater ])art of his life was de- 
voted to farming, though at one time he was 
engaged in mercantile business in Arming- 
ton for two years. He met v/ith excellent 
success in his untlertakings and acipiired a 
large estate. 

To the common schools of this coiuU\" 
John 1. Mountjoy is indebted for his edu- 
cational privileges. In earlv life he aided 
his father in the operation of the home farm 
until ]i^73. when he commenced farming on 
his own account and has since followed that 
]nu-suit w itli marked success. His first farm 
was a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, 
which he sold in 1901 to H. C. Montgouier\-, 
and then ])urchased his present farm on sec- 
tion 35, Eminence toiwnship. consisting of 
two hundred and fifty acres, which he is now 
successfully carrying on. He scans to- have 
inherited nnich of his father's business abil- 
ity and has steadily prospered. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



42 r 



yir. Moimtjoy was married. June 9. 
1873, the lady of his. clioiice being ]\Iiiss 
]\lartlia E. Judy, daugliter of Jacob Jud\", 
wlio is one of Tazewell count}-"s oldest pio- 
neers, and whose sketch appears on another 
page of this volume. To our subject and his 
wife have teen ]x)rn the following children : 
Myrtle A.. Alice V.. William D., Sarah A. 
and Joseph G. They are all single and with 
exception of William make their home with 
their parents. The family are de\-out mem- 
bers of the Christian church and stand high 
in social circles. Fraternally "Sir. IMountjoy 
is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Modern \\ oodmen (_ i 
America. He takes an active interest in pub- 
lic affairs, and is ever ready to assist in anv- 
thing pertaining to the good of the commu- 
nitv. 



JOH.\ J. LACHEXMYER. 

One of the most prosperon.s farmers of 
Chester township, Logan county, is John J. 
Lachenm\er. wIid was born in Wurtemberg. 
German)-, on the 30th of October. 1833. 
His parents never came to America, but 
both died in Germanv many vears ag.). 
Three of their children. Imwever. crossed 
tile Atlantic and became residents of this 
countr}-, liut of these our subject is now the 
onl_\- survivor. His sisters were Christine, 
w li< ■ married Christojjher Sugar and re- 
sided in Cijldwater. Michigan : and Caro- 
line, who married George Wisinger and 
made her Imme in Adrain. Michigan. 

It was in 1854 that Mr. Lachenmyer. 
accompanied 1)y his two sisters, emigrated 
to the new world. He soon found emplov- 
ment on the Lake Shore & Michigan Soiith- 
ern Railroad, and after working for that 
company about four years he came to Illi- 



nois, arriving in Springfield in 1859. For 
the following four years he worked bv the 
month as a farm hand, and not onlv ac- 
quired an excellent knowledge of agricult- 
ural pursuits, but was also able to sa\-e some 
mone\-, which he invested in eighty acres 
of land in Logan county, about the only 
improvement U])on the ])lace being a house. 
From time to time he has added to this prop- 
erty until he now owns two hundred and 
forty acres of fine farming land on sections 
18 and 19, Chester township, and here he 
is successfully engaged in general farming 
and in the raising of fine stock. His home 
is a \ery comfortable one and all the build- 
mgs upon the place are in good condition, 
while the land is imder a high state of cul- 
tivatir.n. 

In 18O1 Mr. Lachcnm_\-er married Miss 
Lena Renschler. who was also iiorn in 
Wurtemberg. Germany, and came with her 
parents to Logan county, Illinois, about the 
same time as Mr. Lachenmyer. Ten chil- 
dren have been born to them, namely : John 
]., Jr.. now a resident of Santa Monica, Cal- 
ifornia; George, of this county: Rose, wife 
of Fred Bock, of David City. Nebraska : Car- 
rie, who died in ]\Iarch. igoo. at the age of 
tl:irty-one years : Margaret, wife of John 
Damarin. of Lincoln: and Lena. \\'illiam, 
Anna, Adam and Charles, all five of whom 
are at home. 

Since becoming a naturalized citizen Mr. 
Lachenmyer has lieen a strong Democrat, 
and has always supported the candidates of 
that party. Religiously he and his family 
are members of St. John's Lutheran chur.:h 
of Lincoln, in which lie has served as deacon 
for about thirty years. On coming to this 
countr\- he was in limited circumstances. 
and through his own well-directed efforts 
and the assistance of his estimable wife he 
has secured the iirosijeritv which thev now 



422 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



eiijciv. Tlieir Imnie is iinted fur its hos- 
])italitv and good cheer, tlieir many friends 
always being sure of a licarty welcome with- 
in its doors. 

♦-•-♦ 

JOHN H. ROBERTS. 

For over sixty years John H. Roberts 
has been an honored resident of Logan 
county, and is now living a retired life in Mt. 
Pulaski. Following in the footsteps of his 
])atriotic ancestors, he fought three years in 
the war of the Rebellion, and participated in 
a number of important engagements. He 
was born on the 5th of Fbruary, 1830, in 
Lee county, Virginia, of whicn state his par- 
ents, Philip and Ellen (Silvers') Roberts, 
were also natives. The mother was born "i 
Bedford county, Virginia, in 1799. and was 
a daughter of Aaron and Sarah (Sowders") 
Silvers. Both the itaternal and the maternal 
grandfathers of our subject were sokliers of 
the Revolutionary war and the father fought 
for American rights and liberties in the 
war of 1812. In November, 1833, tlie lat- 
ter moved with his family from Vir- 
ginia to Illinois, and first settled in Me- 
nard county, Init in 1840 came to Lo- 
gan coimty, and located on Salt Creek, 
h\-e miles north of ]Mt. Pulaski, where 
he built a house of roimd logs, sixteen 
I IV twent}- feet in diniensicms, with a mud 
and stick chimney antl punchenn floor. 
The cracks between the logs which formed 
the walls were daulied with mud and prairie 
grass. The father was not long permitted 
to enjoy his new home, as he died in what 
is now Aetna town.ship in August. 1841, but 
the mother long survived him and ])assed 
awav in Chester township in 1875. ^^^ ^^^^ 
family of this worthy couple were nine chil- 
dren, four sons and ti\-e daughters, namely : 
Sarah Ann, deceased wife of Pilman Clark; 



Susan, wife of Henry M. Clark, of Oregon; 
George, of Rockwell City, Iowa ; ]\Iary Jane, 
widow of J. V. Town and a resident of Cal- 
houn county. Nebraska; John H., our sub- 
ject ; Eliza, deceased wife of Isaac Miller, of 
Chester township ; Charles and Elizabeth, 
twins, the former a resident of Mt, Pulaski, 
the latter the wife of J. E. Downing, of 
Rockwell City, Iowa ; and Reyburn \V., who 
ser\ed through the Civil war with our sub- 
ject, and died in August, 1892. 

John H. Roberts was only three years old 
when the family came to this state, and amid 
scenes familiar to ])ioneer life he grew to 
manhood. He was reared as most farmer 
boys in those days, and l)egan his education 
in a log' school house on Salt creek, his first 
teacher being David ^iilford, and the second 
D. P. Bunn, a Universalist preacher, under 
whose instruction he studied for three 
months. 

Feeling that his country need his serv- 
ices during the dark days of the Civil war, 
^Ir. Roberts enlisted in August, 18.62, i'l 
Company D, One Hundred and Sixth Illi- 
nois A'oluntccr Infantry, Colonel R. B. 
Latham commanding the regiment. They 
were first sent to Jackson, Tennessee, and in 
the spring of 1863 took part in the engage- 
ment at Bolivar, tliat state. Later they were 
in the siege of Vicksburg- until ithe sur- 
render of that stronghold on the 4th oi 
July, and then proceeded to Jackson, yi'is- 
sissippi, but returned to Vicksburg on the 
3 1 St of July, 1 863. While there Mr. Roberts 
recei\'ed a sunstroke wliich disabled him for 
some time and he was granted a short fur- 
lough, which he spent at home, but he later 
rejoined bis regiment at Little Rock. Ar- 
kansas, and remained at the front until the 
cessation of hostilities. He was honorably 
discharged in .\ug-ust, 1865, and was paid 
off at Springfield, Illinois. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



423 



After Iiis return lirmie ]\Ir. Rr)l)erts was 
engaged in farming in Chester tmvnshiii un- 
til 1887, \vlien he removed to ]\It. Pulaski, 
and has since lived a retired life. In Sep- 
temljer, 1865. he married ]\Iiss IMattie L. 
Roberts, of Tennessee, where he met her 
during the war. She died in Alt. Pulaski 
July 10, 1892. and for his second wife he 
wedded Miss Delilah J. Peterson, who was 
born on Salt creek in Aetna township, this 
county, and was educated in the "Sit. Pulaski 
high school, where she was graduated in 
1894. Her parents were Benjamin and 
Elizabeth ( Voorhees) Peterson. Of the 
three children bom to our subject and his 
second wife, one died in infancy. Those 
living are Ruth and Paul R. 

For the past eighteen years ]\Ir. Roberts 
has been totally blind, but with that excep- 
tion he enjoys good health. He is a mem- 
ber of Sam ^\'alker Post, Xo. 205, G. A. R., 
and is a man iiighly respected and esteemed 
by all who knew him. He is a Republican, 
and both he and his wife are members of 
the Christian church. 



ALLEN OUISEXBERRY. 

Prominent among the prosperous and 
substantial citizens of Eminence township i? 
Allen Ouisenberry. who belongs to a \ery 
old and honored family of this section of the 
state. He was born in Kentucky October 19, 
1823. and spent the first twelve years of his 
life in his native state. His father. Edward 
S. Ouisenberry, was a native of Virginia, 
born May 12, 1786, and there grew to man- 
hood and married Polly Thealkill, who died 
in Christian county, Kentucky, leaving fotu'- 
teen children. He subsequently married 
Miss Luc}- A. Clayton, who was born in 



Virginia and died in Logan county. By tliis 
uni(5n five children were born, making him 
the father of nineteen, whom he reared to 
man and womanhood, and of this number 
eight are still Ining. In 18,35 '^e came to 
Illinois, and located in what is now Taze- 
well county. Later he took up his residence 
in Eminence township, Logan countv, and 
here spent the remainder of his life, dving 
in 1864. He was very successful in busi- 
ness, and became the owner of two thousand 
acres of land, being able to leave each of his 
children a quarter-section at the time of his 
death. Religiously he was a member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and was 
a man highly respected and esteemed by all 
who knew him. 

At the age of twelve years Allen Ouisen- 
berry accompanied his parents on their emi- 
gration to Illinois, traveling the entire dis- 
tance of four hundred miles without even 
seeing a bridge, being obliged to ford all 
rivers and creeks. Our subject and a brother 
drove two cows the entire distance. They 
made all possible haste, their father havmg 
told tliem that the country was infested by 
wolves. The other members of the family 
traveled in covered wagons. Arriving in 
Tazewell county. Allen Ouisenberr\- com- 
pleted his education in a log school house 
at Hittles Grove, and remained at home as- 
sisting in the work of the farm until his mar- 
riage. Since then he has engaged in farm- 
ing on his own account, and so successful 
has he been that he is now the owner of 
seven hundred acres of valuable land in Emi- 
nence township, on which he has erected 
good and substantial buildings that stand 
as monuments to his thrift antl enterprise. 

On December 2;^. 1842, Mr. Ouisenberry 
was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
Burt, the ceremony being performed at Hit- 
tie's Grove. Her father was William Burt, 



424 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



one of Tazewell county's most distinguished 
citizens. He was a native of Kentuck)-, and 
in 1827 he came to Tazewell ciiunt\-. which 
at that time was mainly noted for the ter- 
rihle encounters between the early settlers 
and the Indians, who were then far more 
numcrcius than the white inhabitants. The 
])ostage on a letter at that time was twent\- 
five cents, and the early settlers were forced 
to endure man\- hardships and privations. 
To Air. and Mrs. (juisenljerr\- were born 
three children, two of whom are still living, 
namely: John \\\. a resident of Tazewell 
county: and China M.. now the wife of Will- 
iam F. ^Vlbright, a merchant of Chicagi^. 
The wife and mother, who was a most esti- 
mable woman, died in Eminence township 
April 20, 1897. Air. Ouisenberr_\- was again 
married, in April, 1898. his second union 
being with Mrs. H. ■\Iartlin, a resident of 
southern Indiana, and a daughter of a '\[v. 
Dixon. Air. Ouisenberry is li\ing with his 
wife and step-children on the old home farm 
in Eminence townshi]3, though he has prac- 
tically retired from acti\e labor, leaving the 
work of the farm to A(junger hands. He and 
his family are members of the Christian 
church, and politically he is identitiefl with 
the Republican party. W'herexer known he 
is held in high regard and as an honored pio- 
neer and highly respected citizen he is cer- 
tainly deserving of honorable mention in the 
history oi his adopted ci mnty. 



A. J. PEASE. 

A. J. Pease, one of the pnisperous and 
higlily res])ected farmers of section 13, 
Lake Fork township, located near Latham, 
was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, 
July 20, 1834, and is the son of Shaw and 



Amanda (Pettis) Pease. The grandpar- 
ents of our suljject were e\-idently among 
the \ery earl_\- jjioneers of Sanganmn coun- 
ty, audi {Shaw /Pease, iihe father, was 
born in that county, where he became quite 
acti\e in politics. ser\ing one term in the 
legislature, ha\'ing been elected on the Re- 
publican ticket. He died there at about 
sixty-five years of age. The family is of 
Welsh lineage, the great-grandfather Pease 
ha\ing come fr(\)m Wales. 

WJren our subject was about twelve 
years of age his parents settled on a farm 
near where he now resides, and here the 
}"oinig bo}" was reared to agricultural life 
and attended the common schools. He re- 
mained upon the homestead until he was 
married, in Alacon countw near Xirmtic, 
February 2j. 1878, to Miss Frederika 
Bruce, whose home was in that county, but 
who had been born in Germany, near Kiel, 
and had come to .\merica with her mother 
and brotiier when yet a little girl. To Air. 
and Airs. Pease have lieen Ixirn five children, 
namely: Ella F., -who died at the age of 
three }'ears : Airs. Ivlith Er\in, -of Alacon 
county: and Louis, Frank and Bertha, of 
whom the last three are residing" at home. 

For a few years after his marriage Mr. 
Pease rented land, but sixrn his industry and 
thrift made it possible for him to purchase 
one hundred acres of wild land. This 
])roperty he has lirought into a line state of 
cultix'ation. and in addition he leases two 
hundred and twent}' acres, thus operating 
one-half a section, gi\'ing his attention to 
farming, stock raising and feeding. The 
house, barn and buildings are all in excel- 
lent condition and his farm is well kept up 
in e\ery particular. 

In politics Air. Pease has always licen a 
Re])ublican, and has taken an active inter- 
est in local politics. For several years he 




A. J. PEASE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



427 



lias ser\etl as a member of the Republican 
count}' central committee, including both 
[NIcKinley campaigns, and in a townshiji 
that is strongly Democratic he was elected 
supervisor in 1899 and served two years, 
during which time he was on the committee 
on roads and bridges, ser\-ing as the chair- 
man for one year, and was also on the 
iinance committee, as well as other commit- 
tees. In 1901 he was again nominated and 
l.ieaten by only four votes, which was re- 
markable considering the strong Demo- 
cratic majorit}- in the tijwnship. He served 
as school trustee for about twelve years and 
has since been director for the past six or 
eight years. 

Mr. Pease and his family are active 
members of the Christian church at Xi- 
antic, and are highly respected in that de- 
nomination. Socially our subject was 
luade a member of Latham Lodge, Xo. 853, 
A. F. & A. M., in 1899, and he also holds 
membership in several other organizations. 
He is a pleasant, genial man, very popular 
and influential throughout the township. 
Bv his man\- excellent ([ualities he has made 
liimself well-liked in the community, and 
his success in life is well deserved. 



EDWIX S. LIXBARGER. 

Edwin S. Linbarger is conducting a 
hotel and li\-ery stable at San Jose, Mason 
county, l.)ut belongs tO' one of the old and 
prominent families of Logan county, where 
he is himself widely and favorably known. 
He was born in Xew- York city, March 19. 
1842, and is a son of John Linbarger, who 
entered land from the government in Logan 
county in 1850. He was a native of Somer- 

23 



set county, Xew Jersey, born September 2, 
1808. and after arri\ing at years of ma- 
turity he married Hannah Smally, who was 
born in the .same county July 3, 18 13. There 
they resided until after their marriage, when 
they remo\-ed to X'ew York city, where the 
father engaged in the manufacture of hats, 
being the inventor of the smooth felt hat 
now worn. He rented the old X'ew York 
state prison and therein conducted a hat 
factory, continuing in the business with ex- 
cellent success for some time. In June, 1846. 
he enlistetl for service in the Mexican war 
and served throughout the struggle, acting 
as captain of his company. After his re- 
turn to X'ew York city he. was custom house 
officer. ha\ing charge of the liquors, cigars 
and fruits imported intOi this country. On 
the expiration of his term of service in that 
position he came westward with his fam- 
ily, making the trip largely by water. They 
proceeded from AUiany by way of the Erie 
canal to Buffalo, thence by the great lakes, 
to Chicago, by canal to LaSalle, by steamer 
to Alton and thence to Jersev\-ille. Illinois,, 
where in partnership with Dr. Todd he en- 
gaged in farming for several years. In 1849 
he removed to Logan countv and the fol- 
lowing year entered land in Prairie Creek 
township, including all of section 4. the west 
half of section 9. the southwest quarter of 
section 8, the southwest quarter of section 
3 and the northwest quarter of section 10, 
constituting in all about fourteen hundred' 
acres. He made improvements on section 
4. develiiping a fine farm, whereon he re- 
sided until the death of his wife, December 
15, 1884. He then removed to San J(ise 
and lived retired with his son Edwin until 
his death, passing awav on the 4th of March, 

1893- 

This worthy couple were the parents of 



428 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 






ten children : David died in cliildliood ; 
Josepli died in infancy ; George, who is now 
living in Enreka Springs, Arkansas, married 
Jennie Bailey, and after her death married 
a Airs. Armstrong, a widow. Andrew T. is 
deceased; Edwin S. is the next younger; 
Virginia L. is the wife of Henry Flint, of 
^Minneapolis, Alinnesota ; Charles married 
Laura F'armeter and resides in Rich Hill, 
Missouri; Henry wedded ?dar\" ]\Iunson and 
is living in West Point, Mississippi ; John K. 
married Julia ^^"arren and is engagetl in the 
real-estate business in Delavan. Illinois; and 
A\'alter, who has resided in Chicago, is now- 
living with our subject. He married Cora 
Mathews, but she is now deceased. 

The childrea were all educated in the 
common schools, and after putting aside his 
text-books Edwin See Linbarger engaged 
in farming in Prairie Creek township, but 
later was in the service of the Texas Central 
and the Houston & Great Xorthern Railroad 
Com]5anies. He acted as fireman for six 
months and was then made a conductor in 
the freight service. From 1871 until 1874 
he was in the Lone Star state, and then re- 
turned to New York city, where he remained 
for a year. Subsequently he returned 10 
Logan county and established a grocery 
store in Emden, where he conducted busi- 
ness for tiiree years, after which he sold out 
and lived in retirement from labor for a A'ear. 
On the expiration of that period he came 
to San Jose and purchased the drug store 
owned by his brother George, conducting 
the same until 1901. when he sold the drug 
stock. In i8qi he began the hotel business, 
and adding to this a liver}- stable now- car- 
ries on operations along both lines. He has 
six good head of horses and his barn re- 
cci\es a liberal patronage. As a landlord 
he is pijpular, enterprising and ct.iurteuus. 



and has become \-ery popular with the pat- 
rons of the house. 

Mr. Linbarger has been twice married. 
On the 29th of December, 1869, he wedded 
Rhoda Gibbs, of New York, a daughter of 
Re\-. Gibbs, a Methodist Episcopal minister 
of the Empire state. I\Irs. Linbarger died 
October 3, 1870, and our subject was again 
n-iarried, October 30, 1872, his second union 
being -with Miss Augusta Snell, of Jeffer- 
son county. New- York, a daughter of Gideon 
Snell, who spent his entire life in that state, 
where he engaged in farming and in the mill- 
ing business. Unto the second marriage 
have been born three children : Katie, who 
was born July 6, 1876, and died February 
29, 1880, when about four years of age; 
Cora, who was born August 15, 1880, and 
died December 31 of the same year; and 
John Webster, who was born August 31, 
1883. ^"d is still with his parents. 

In politics Mr. Linbarger has followed in 
the political footsteps of his father, who 
\oted for Andrew Jackson, ha^■ing, since 
he attained his majority, been an advocate 
of Democratic principles. For eight years 
he held the office of postmaster in San Jose, 
and is now serving his second term as police 
magistrate, while for a quarter of a century 
he has been notary public and is also a dep- 
uty to issue marriage licenses. Fraternally 
he is connected with San Jose Lodge, No. 
645. A. F. & A. i\I. ; Grossman Chapter, No. 
155. R. A. M., of Delavan: and Constantine 
Commandery, No. 51, K. T., of Lincoln. 
He is one of the well known residents of this 
part of the state. Whatever success he has 
achie\ed is attributable entirely to his ow-n 
efforts, for in early life he started out to 
make his own way in the world and has 
since been dependent upon his own resources. 
Fie is now known as a popular man. reliable 



II 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



429 



in business, trustworthy in office and faitli- 

ful to every duty wliich devolves upon 

liim. 

*-•-• 

EDGAR E. SISSOX. 

Among the prosperous farmers of Sheri- 
dan township is Edgar E. Sisson, who re- 
sides on section 13 and has made this town- 
ship his hiiine all his life, having- been born 
here February 6, 1874. He is the son of 
John F. and Eliza (Myers) Sisson, natives 
of Jersey county, Illinois, who came to Lo- 
gan county at an early day and settled in 
Sheridan township, where they li\-ed on the 
farm now occupied by our subject. Here 
they remained for a few years and then re- 
turned to Jersey county, l)ut after a short 
time returned to the old homestead in Sheri- 
dan township, where the father engaged in 
general farming until 1892. At this time 
he and his wife removed to Lincoln, this 
county, wliere tliey live retired. Four chil- 
dren were born to them : John, who married 
Susan Beaver, died in 1899, and she no\\- 
resides in Lincoln; Edgar E., our subject, is 
the next of the family ; Bessie and Emma 
are residents of Lincoln. All of the children 
were educated in the common schools nf Lin- 
coln. 

Edgar E. Sisson after completing his ed- 
ucation took charge of the Sisson homestead 
on sections 23 and 24, Sheridan township, 
where he lived five years. During that time 
he married Miss ^lary Lynch, of ]\Iascn 
City. Illinois, a daughter of Luther Lynch, 
a laborer now residing in ]\Iason Citv. One 
child has been born of this union, name!}- : 
Edna, born February 21, 1900. 

Soon after his marriage ^Mr. Sisson re- 
moved to his father's farm on section 13, 



where he operates four hundred acres of fine 
land and carries on general farming and 
stock-raising. In politics he is a Democrat, 
and socially he is a member of Burtonville 
Lodge, No. 6982, M. W. A., of Burtonville, 
Illinois, and of the Court of Honor of New 
Holland, Illinois. Although still a young 
man he has been very successful in his farm- 
ing operations and gained the highest respect 
and esteem of a large circle of friends. 



THOMAS SMITH. 



Thomas Smith, deceased, who for many 
years was one of the most active and ener- 
getic farmers of Oran township, Logan 
county, was born August 12, 1829, in Eng- 
land, and is of German descent. He grew 
to manhood and received a good education 
in his native tongue, at the place of his birth. 
He was one of a family of three children. 
The father was originally from Scotland and 
in early manhood went to England, where 
he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his 
death, which occurred when our subject was 
Cjuite young. 

The death of the father rendered it nec- 
essary for young Thomas to at once seek 
employment \\'hereby he would be enabled 
to render assistance to the family. He se- 
cured work on a farm by the month, in 
which employment he continued for a period 
of five years, and in 1865 he left his native 
land and sailed for America. Landing at 
New York, he at once started for Illinois, 
and located in Sangamon county, where for 
a period of three years he cared for and 
herded a flock of about three thousand sheep 
and then rented a small farm, which he 
tilled, making it his home for five years. He 



430 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was very energetic and economical, and by 
strict attention to the details of his work he 
was enabled during this time to accumulate 
and save sufficient means to purchase eighty 
acres of land, which he improved, put un- 
der culti\atirin and where he resided until 
his death, which nccurred on the 28th of 
April, 1899. after a lingering illness of sev- 
eral vears. His widow, who survives him, 
occupies the present home nn this farm. 

The first wife of our subject died in Oc- 
tober, 1876, and he married for his second 
wife Rosina Sheer, daughter of Marx Sheer, 
who was originally from German}-, and wh.) 
married Margaret Bauer. ]\Irs. Smith is a 
nati\e nf ( iermany. Ijorn on the i8th of 
March. 1842. and came to the United States 
when twenty-two years of age. Her mar- 
riage ti) Mr, Smith occurred September 2S. 
1877, and was blessed with six children, 
four of whom are now living, as follows: 
Mollie E.. now .Mrs. C. E. Gossett : John A. : 
Frederick T. ; and Mary Elizabeth. John 
A. married Florence ^Murray, of Logan 
county, whose parents were early and re- 
s]>ected settlers of this county. 

Mr. Smith was a stanch supporter of the 
Deiuocratic party, and although always hav- 
ing the interests of that political body at 
lieart he ne\er took an acti\e ])art in ])olitics, 
not caring for office. He was clearly a self- 
made man in e\ery sense of that term. Com- 
ing to .\merica with no capital, he started 
out in a strange land to overcome the dif- 
ficulties and t Ijstacles in the patli to pros- 
]>erit\-, and success crowned his efforts. He 
helie\t(I in doing the work at hand cheer- 
full\-. and well. He toiled early and late, 
and while gi\'ing strict attention to his farm- 
ing interests he devoted a great deal of time 
to home life, being e\'er a kind an<l indulgent 
father and devoted husbanil. 



PATRICK RYAX. 

For almost a half centurv Patrick Ryan 
has resided in this ])ortion of Illinois. li\- 
ing for many years in Delavan township, 
Tazewell county, and since 1877 upon his 
present farm on sections 9 and 10, Prairie 
Creek township, Logan county. He has 
therefore witnessed much of the growth and 
development of this region and has borne no 
inconsiderable part in the general (le\elop- 
ment which has reclaimed the land for pur- 
poses of civilization and made this one of the 
richest farming districts in the state. A na- 
ti\e of Ireland, he was ])orn in county Lim- 
erick Se])tember 15, 1847, a son of James 
and Margaret (Hayes) Ryan, whose familv 
numbered eleven children. The parents 
were also natives of the same county and in 
1853 they sailed with their family for Amer- 
ica, making their way direct to Tazewell 
County. Illinois. Thev established their 
home upon a farm in Delavan township, and 
there the father engaged in tlie tilling of the 
soil throughout his remaining da\s, his 
death occurring about 1888. His widow still 
resides in Dela\an, making her home with 
her grandchildren. Se\en of the children of 
the family are yet living, as follows : John, 
a resident farmer of Delavan to^vnship, 
Tazewell county : Patrick, of this review : 
Catherine, the wife of James Mur])hy, who 
is living in Cdell. Illinois ; James, who is 
engaged in the li\-erv Inisiness in Delavan: 
William, a resident farmer of Delavan town- 
ship: Drmiel, who is also engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits in Delavan township; 
Idella, the widow of James McGrath, a resi- 
dent of Odell. Illinois. Michael and Johan- 
na, other members of this family, are now- 
deceased. The children were all pro\ided 
with good educational privileges, a number 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



431 



of them attending- college or other advanced 
institutions of learning after lea\-ing the 
common schools. 

]\Ir. Ryan, of this review, pursued his 
earlv education in the district schools, which 
was supplemented by a year's study in the 
University of Notre Dame of Indiana, and 
as a life work took up the occupation to 
which he had been reared, beginning opera- 
tions on his own account as a farmer of 
Delavan township, Tazewell county. There 
he remained until twenty-nine _\'ears of age, 
or until 1877, when he removed with his 
familv tO' Prairie Creek township, Logan 
•county, purchasing his present farm of two 
hundred and eighty acres on sections 9 and 
10. He has made excellent improx'ements 
•on the property, and carries on general farm- 
ing and stock-raising with success. His is 
a valuable property, the highly cultivated 
fields, substantial buildings, the latest im- 
proved machinery and all modern con- 
\-eniences indicated the progressive spirit of 
the owner, who is a reliable business man, 
well meriting the prosperity which has 
crowned his labors. 

\\ hile residing in Tazewell countv Mr. 
Ryan was married to Miss Mary Hubbard, a 
native of Ohio and a daughter of Nicholas 
and Mary (Smith) Hubbard, who were 
l^orn in Germanv. Prior to Mrs. Ryan's 
birth her parents emigrated to this coun- 
try, locating in Ohio. There the father foi- 
Iciwed farming until his removal to Prairie 
Creek township, Logan county, Illinois, 
where he resided until his death. The mar- 
riage of Air. and Mrs. Ryan has been blessed 
with four chilflren : James W'., Annie, 
Mamie and Nicholas. The parents hold 
membership in the Catholic church of De- 
lavan. In ix)litics Mr. Ryan has been a 
Democrat since attaining his majority, and 



has held several local offices. He is now 
ser\ing as township supervisor, a position 
which he has filled for nine years, and for 
some time he has served as school trustee, 
discharging the duties of both offices in an 
acceptable manner. He is a director in the 
Tazewell County Fair Association and has 
done much to encourage progressi\-e meth- 
ods of farming". His own labors have been 
so carefully directed that he is now num- 
bered among the prominent and \\ealthy 
farmers of the community in which fc>r al- 
most a half-centur\- he has made his home. 



JOSEPH W. HOBLIT. 

The natural advantages of this section at- 
tracted at an earlv day a superior class of 
settlers, thrifty, industrious, progressive and 
law-abiding, whose influence gave perma- 
nent direction to the de\elopment of the lo- 
cality. Among the worthy pioneers of Lo- 
gan county the Hoblit family hold a promi- 
nent place, being among the first to locate 
here. 

The founder of the family in this county 
was Samuel Hoblit. the grandfather of our 
subject. He came west from Ohio in 1829, 
and settled in Atlanta township, where many 
of his descendants still li\e. He married 
Miss Abigail Downev. Their son, John A. 
Hoblit. was born Alarch 5. 1833, in Atlanta 
township. Later in life he moved to the 
farm now occupied by our subject. On the 
17th of January, 1856, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Nancy Willmurtli. and 
to them were born seven children. In early 
manhood he engaged in teaching school for 
two terms. Being anxious to take care of 
his father's estate, he then took control of 



432 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the property and successfully managed the 
same. After acquiring a sufficient knowl- 
edge of agriculture he embarked in farming 
on his own account on a quarter-section of 
land. As time passed he prospered in his 
farming operations and kept adding to his 
landed possessions until he had accumulated 
fourteen Inmdred acres of land in Logan 
county. He was also extensively engaged 
in stock-raising and met with good success 
in that undertaking. As a director and 
stockliolder he was identified with banks at 
Atlanta. Bloomington and Lincoln, and was 
one of the principal stockholders of the bank 
at Carlin\-ille. of which his son, Abraham 
L., \\as cashier, and Frank, assistant cashier. 
He was a most capable financier and shrewd 
business man. possessing extraordinary good 
judgment and keen discrimination. His 
residence, in which Joseph W. now lives, is 
one of the most beautiful country homes in 
the county. The father died in February, 
1898. honored and respected by all who 
knew him. 

Joseph \\'. Holilit was born Xo\-ember 
28, 1856, on the old homestead in .\tlanta 
township where he now resides, and his early 
education was received in the district schools 
of the neighborhood, later attending the 
Shurtleff College at Alton, Illinois. His life 
has been devoted to agriculture, and he now 
owns and operates four hundred acres of 
valuable land, which is under a high state of 
cu!ti\atiiin and supplied \\ ith all of the con- 
veniences and accessories found upon a 
model farm of the present day. 

On the 5th of November, 1892, Mr. Hob- 
lit was united in marriage with Miss Ivy L. 
Tuttle, daughter of Alarion Tuttle, of At- 
lanta, who lost his life while defending the 
stars ami stripes in the Civil war. Mrs. 
Hoblit is a member of the Baptist church 



and a most estimable lady. In his political 
views otir subject is a Republican, but he has 
never taken an active part in public affairs, 
his time and attention l)eing de^-oted to his 
business. He has traveled considerably and 
has gained that extensive knowledge of the 
world which only travel can bring. His so- 
cial, genial nature makes him well liked, and 
he is a stanch and loyal friend, fond of good' 
fellowship and devoted to those who have 
bis confidence. The name of Hoblit is well 
known throughout this and adjoining conn- 
ties, and the members of the family are noted ' 
for their pluck, ambition and good judg- • 
ment. 



\\ ILLIAM H. BOWLES. 

William H. Bowles, an extensive farmer 
of Orvil township, Logan county, Illinois, 
resides on section 2 and is also engaged in' 
the grain Inisiness in the village of Emden. 
He was born near Clinton, De Witt county, 
Illinois, December 20, 1847, ''"^^ '* "^ son of 
Dax'id Bowles, a sketch of whom appears- 
elsewhere in this volume. He was \ery 
young when lirought by his parents to Logan 
county, and received his education in the 
schools of Orvil towjiship, and then assisted" 
his father upon the farm until his marriage, 
August 22, 1875, when he was united to 
Jennie M. Smallwood, a native of Pike coun- 
ty, Illinc:is. Slie was born February 12, 
1850, and is a daughter of John A. and 
;\Iary ( \^an Gundy) Smallwood, lioth na- 
tives of the east, who came west at an early 
day and settled in Pike county, Illinois, 
where they lived until 1853, and then moved 
to Logan county. They settled in West Lin- 
coln township and li\-ed on a farm until 
1870, when they mo\ed to Orvil township,. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



433 



and remained on a farm tlieie for six years. 
They tlien removed to Tazewell county, Illi- 
nois, where both now reside, living on a farm 
which is operated by a son, Mr. Smallwood 
lia\-ing- retired from active life. Mr. and 
]\Irs. Bowles had two children, namely: 
]\Ianiie B., born on Januarv 27, 1877, is now 
at home: Brook D., born on September 17, 
1881, died on February 22, 1901. 

After his marriage our subject moved to 
his ]iresent farm, known as the old Jesse 
Bowles farm, and he now owns two hundred 
and twenty-six acres on sections 2 and 3, 
Orvil township, and also ten acres of timber 
land in Eminence township. He is one of 
the largest lando\A'ners in the township. He 
is also in partnership with D. H. Gemberling 
and the firm own an ele\'ator in Emden and 
do an extensive grain business. 

In politics j\lr. Bowles is a Prohibitionist 
and he and his wife and daughter are active 
members of the Bethel Cliristian churcii of 
Orvil township, in. which denomination they 
take a great interest and of which he is a 
deacon. Brook D. was also a member of the 
same church. As a farmer, a business man, 
a Christian, a husband and father, ]\Ir. 
Bowle.s has proven himself an honorable man 
and a faithful follower of the teachings of 
his Master. 



HARDIX B. WALTERS. 

For many years Hardin B. Walters has 
been one of the highly respected citizens of 
Logan county. Illinois. His Ijirtb occurred 
ir, Hardin county, Kentucky, December ig, 
1856, and he is a son of Jacob W. and Lydia 
(Funk) Walters, the former of whom was 
born in 18 17 and the latter in 1823, in the 
State of Kcntuck\'. Thev are now hale and 



I'.earty residents of Ci)ttey\-ille. Kansas, the 
father lun'ing reached his eightx'-fourth vear 
antl the mother her seventy-eighth. They 
became the parents of eleven children, one 
of whom died in infancy, and one daughter, 
IMary L.. who was the wife of F. P. Marvin, 
died in Lincoln. ]\Iav 26, 1890. The sur- 
vi\'ors are as follows: Sarah, who is the 
wife of H. C. Perry, of Coffeyville, Kansas; 
Jacob A. is a farmer in Oklahoma: Eliza- 
beth, wife of John Shi\'el, of Coffe\'\ille. 
Kansas: Grace B., wife of George Pember- 
ton. of Sedalia. [Missouri: Robert, a farmer 
in East Lincoln township: Hardin B.. the 
suijject of this sketch : William, who li\-es 
in Coffeyville : Theodore, an engineer, living- 
in Coft'eyville. Kansas : and Frank, who lives 
in Coloradi). The education of the children 
was obtained in Missouri, where the family 
lix'ed for seventeen vears prior to their re- 
moval to Kansas. 

Our subject, Hardin B. \\'aters. received 
liut a limited education, and was reared on 
the farm, remaining at home until he reached 
his nineteenth year and then began the 
shaping of his own career. Coming to Lo- 
gan count}', Illinois, he engaged in farm 
work during the summers and eagerly em- 
Ijraced the chance of attending school during 
the winters, and thus secured a good com- 
mon school education. For six years he 
worked on farms and then rented a desiraljle 
tract, exercising continual diligence and 
economy until he was able to purchase his 
present fine farm, in 1894. 

^Ir. \\"alters was united in marriage. 
^I.ay 29. 1883. to Miss Lydia Dunham, and 
thus became connected with one of the lead- 
ing and representative families of the county. 
Mrs. \\'alters was born September 19, 1862, 
and became one of the best educated and 
popular teachers in the localit\-. She is a 



434 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ladv cif culture and refinement. The chil- 
dren born of this marriage are; Violet M., 
Noel D., Eva L., Harry D., \\illiam H. antl 
Ruth 1-".. One tlied in infancy. All lia\e 
been afforded e.xcellenl school privileges. 

The pleasant family residence of ]\Ir. 
and Mrs. Walters is located on section 25, 
East Lincoln township, the fine farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres extentling into sec- 
tion 24 also. For this land Mr. \\'alters 
was able to pay se\ent}-fi\e and ninety dol- 
lars an acre, all of which he earned h)' his 
industry, having had no assistance and being 
Avitliout means when he came to the county. 

]\Ir. and I\Irs. Walters are among the 
leading memliers of the Christian church, of 
which he is one of its worthy elders, antl for 
se\ei'*al years he has efficiently served as 
school director. In a social way he is 
connected with Lincoln Camp, Alodern 
A\'oo(lmen i^.i America, in which he has 
man\- friends. His success shows the nat- 
ural results of an industrious and temperate 
life. Xot only does he possess ample means, 
Init he also enjovs the esteem of the com- 
munitv in which he has lived so long. 



JOXATH.\X COMBS. 

Jonathan Combs, of ]Mt. Pulaski, is now- 
living a retired life, in the enio\-ment of a 
rest which he has truly earnetl and richly 
deserves by reason of his industrious ef- 
forts of former years. Accomplishment 
and progress ever imply labor, energy and 
diligence, and it was those qualities that 
enabled our subject to rise from the ranks 
t^f the many and stand among the success- 
ful few. 

!Mr. Combs was horn in .\delphi, Ross 



county, Ohio, March 11, 1829, and is a son 
of Joshua and Sarah ( Brauclier) Combs, 
the former a native of Bucks county, Penn- 
s\l\ania, and the latter of Pickaway county, 
Ohio, where their marriage was celebrated. 
The father, who was a farmer and carpen- 
ter l)v occupation, continued to make his 
home in the Bucke_\'e state throughout life, 
hut <lied while on a visit to his son Jonathan 
in Logan countv, Illinois, in 1863. The 
mother died in Pickaway county, Ohio, the 
year pre\ious. 

Our suljject acquired his education in 
the common schools of Pickaway county. 
Ohio, the school-house being of logs, with 
a window at each end and the primitive 
methods of teaching being in \ogue. In 
early life he learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for fourteen years. On 
the 7th of January, 1849, '^^ 1^"^^ to the mar- 
riage altar Miss Ann Rose, of Ross county, 
and a daughter of John Rose. Six children 
blessed this union, namely: Xelson, who 
died in Cedar county, Missouri, in 1888, 
leaving six children : Mary A., wife of W. 
D. Ross, who li\es in Puyallup Valley, 
\\'ashington : Sarah, wife of J. B. Harri- 
son, a farmer, of Logan county, Illinois: 
August S., a carpente/i". of Mi. Pulaski; 
Eliza J., wife of Saiuuel C. Dawson, who 
li\-es on the old homestead in Chester town- 
ship, this county: and Catherine, wife of 
Eugene Sheer, a wagon-maker, of Lincoln. 

After his marriage Mr. Combs resided 
in Pickaway county, Ohio, until the fall of 
i860, when he came to Logan county, Illi- 
nois, and settled in Chester township, where 
he ])urchased eighty acres of wild land for 
eleven dollars and a quarter per acre. There 
was not a stick of timber upon the place. 
His first home here was a four-room house, 
but as the years passed he made many im- 




JONATHAN COMBS. 




MRS. JONATHAN COMBS. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



437 



pru\'enients upon the farm and added to it 
until he had three liundred and sixty acres 
under a high state nf cultivatinn and equip- 
ped with a good set of farm IjuiUHngs. In 
connection witli general farming he suc- 
cessfully engaged in stock raising, making 
a specialty of a high grade of short-horn 
cattle. Besides the old homestead he now 
owns two hundred and forty acres of land 
in Laenna township and sixty acres in Mt. 
Pulaski township, making six hundred and 
sixty acres of land in this county, and he 
also has eighty acres in Sangamon county, 
and eighty acres in the state of Washington. 
In order to give his children better ad- 
vantages ^Ir. Combs .removed from the 
farm to ]\It. Pulaski in December. 1877, and 
has since made his home in that village, 
\\here he bought a good home, surrounded 
by a whole block of ground. In 1879 he 
formed a partnersliip with Z. K. Wood, and 
under the finu name ()f Wood & Combs 
they successfully engaged in buying and 
shipping grain of all kinds, having elevators 
at Wt. Pulaski, Chestnut and Latham. In 
1898 Mr. Cnmbs sold out and has since 
practically lived a retired life, though he 
still looks after his farming interests, and is 
a busy, energetic man. He has some city 
property, including his pleasant home, which 
is complete in all its appointments. In 
business affairs he has been remarkal)ly suc- 
cessful, and his success is but the just re- 
ward of his own untiring labors, close appli- 
cation and good management, as he is a 
man of exceptionally gcKxl business and 
executive ability. He now rents all of his 
farm land. In pcditics Mr. Combs has been 
a stanch Republican since the organization 
of the party, and gives his support to all 
measures which he believes will pro\-e of 
public benefit. Air. Combs has been an ex- 



tensi\'e tra\'eler, and has been in ex'ery state 
and territory west of Buffalo except three, 
and still finds that central Illinois has the 
l^est farming lands of any place he ever 
visited. When on a visit west Mrs. Combs 
died at San Francisco. January 15, 1899, 
and was interred in Mt. Pulaski cemetery. 



GEORGE H. OUISENBERRY. 

Among the worthy citizens of Oran 
township none are more deserving of repre- 
sentation in this volume than George H. 
Ouisenberry. who for many years has been 
connected with the agricultural interests of 
the community, and who has, through his 
well-directed eft'orts, gained a handsome 
competence that numbers him among the 
substantial citizens of his township. Mr. 
Ouisenberry was born in Logan county. No- 
vember 10, 1861, and is a son of Arthur and 
Polly (Burt) Ouisenberry, both natives of 
Kentuck}', the fornier born in the fall of 
1835 and the latter in September, 1840. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Ed- 
ward Sanford Ouisenberry, was a Virginian 
by birth, and came to this state with his fam- 
ily in the fall of 1835. During his boyhood 
Arthur Ouisenberry received a good educa- 
tion for those days and was reared tO' habits 
of industry. He became one of the foremost 
farmers of his community, a man of good 
business and executive ability, and is now 
able to spend his declining years in ease and 
quiet at his pleasant home in Lincoln. ha\'- 
ing retired from active labor. 

Our subject also received good educa- 
tional advantages, attending first the com- 
mon schools and later the Lincoln high 
school and the Lincoln Uni\-ersitv. In 1886 



438 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he began his business career as a farmer on 
his fatiier's farm in Eminence townsliip. 
wliere lie remained until 1892, when lie re- 
m<n-ed to his present place in Oran township, 
where he has four hundred and iifty acres of 
rich and arable land under a high state of 
cultivation and pleasantly located only a few- 
miles southeast of Atlanta. He is a ye\\ 
wide-awake and energetic business man and 
is meeting with excellent success in his un- 
dertakings. 

On the 8th of March, 1888, Mr. Quisen- 
lierry was united in marriage with Miss E. 
G. McCormick, a daughter of James Mc- 
Cormick, a nati\e of Scotland, and three 
children bless this union, namely : Lawrence 
B., born September 28, 1889; Pauline, liorn 
Februarv 24, 1891 : and Harold, born No- 
vember 12, 1893. Mr. Ouisenberry is iden- 
tified with the Democratic party, but has 
never cared for political honors, preferring 
rather to devote his undi\"ided attention to 
liis liusiness interests. Keen discrimination, 
vmflagging industry and resolute purpose are 
numbered among his salient characteristics, 
and to these may be attributed his success in 
life, while the prosperity he has won is but 
the merited reward of honest effort. His 
pleasing manner makes him many friends. 
and he is held in the highest regard Ijy all 
who know him. 



JOHN L. MEISTER. 

John L. Meister, of Alt. Pulaski, comes 
from the fatherland, and the strongest and 
most creditable characteristics of the Teu- 
tonic race have been marked elements in his 
life and have enabled him to win success. 
He possesses the energy and determination 



which mark the people of Germany, and by 
tlie e.xercise of his powers he has steadily 
];rospered and has not only won a handsome 
competence but has C(immanded uni\-ersal 
respect. 

Mr. Aleister was Ijorn in Bavaria, Ger- 
many. March 2, 1839, and in 1845 came to 
.\merica with his parents, George and Cath- 
erine Meister. Landing in New York City, 
the faniih", including two children, at once 
jiroceeded to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they 
spent the following winter and then went to 
St. Louis, Missouri, and from there up the 
Mississippi river to Pekin, Illinois, whence 
by wagon they came to Mt. Pulaski. Here ' 
the father was engaged in the manufacture. , 
of brick for thirty yeans. He died in 1897, ' 
at the age of eighty-three years, his wife in 
1885, at an advanced age. They had a fam- 
ily of fi\'e children, namely: John L., our 
subject; Barbara, wife of John Krieg; 
Elizabeth, wife of Henry Suelmeier; Henry,. > 
a farmer of Mt. Pulaski: and Solomon, a « 
resident of Mt. Pulaski. 

During his early life John L. ^^leister 
attended school for about three months dur- 
ing the winters, and after completing" his 
education worked in his father's brickyard 
until he attained his majority. In 1862 he 
was united in marriage with Miss Alary 
Long, who was also born in Germany. 
They have t\vo sons living: Jolm H., who- 
is a resident of Alt. Pulaski ; and Fred ^^'., 
bookkeeper in the Scroggins Bank of Alt. 
Pulaski. George S. died at the age of 
twenty-six }-ears. 

Throughout his business career Air. 
A leister has been more or less interested in 
farming, and has acquired considerable 
property, including four hundred and eighty 
acres of valuable farm land in Logan county,, 
which he now rents. He also has eight hun- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



439 



dred and forty-eight acres of land in Sanga- 
mon county, Illinois, and other property in 
Kansas, besides his fine residence in JMt. 
Pulaski. His land is now well improved 
and very valuable. The record of his early 
life is that of an active, enterprising, 
methodical and sagacious business man, and 
he can now afford to lay aside all business 
cares and enjoy a well-earned rest. Soci- 
allv Mr. ^leister is a prominent Knight Tem- 
plar Mason, belonging to Mt. Pulaski Lodge, 
No. Sj. F. & A. M. : Mt. Pulaski Chapter, 
R. .\. M. : and Mt. Pulaski Commandery, 
K. T. While a prominent Democrat, he has 
held no office. 



WTLLIAINI MARKWORTH. 

One of the leading German-. \merican 
citizens of Lincoln is William Markworth, 
r. dealer in wood, who was born in Bruns- 
wick, Germany, on the 25th of April, 183 1. 
His parents, Gustavus and Caroline (Boek- 
man") ]\Iark worth, spent their entire lives in 
that country. His father was an attorney, 
and for a number of years served as state's 
attornev, the appnintment to that office being 
for life in Germany, which position is only 
given to men of prominence in their pro- 
fession. The mother of our subject was de- 
scended from a good old family. 

\lv. Alarkworth, who is one of a family 
of six children, began his education in a 
Jewish institute, which was the best school 
in his locality. Later he entered the gym- 
nasium at Brunswick, where he was a student 
from the age of thirteen to eighteen years, 
and he later served twelve months in the 
German army as a volunteer during the 
Schleswig-Holstein war. 



Determined to try his fortune in the new 
world, ^Ir. Markworth sailed from the port 
of Bremen in 1851, and after a voyage of 
six weeks landed in New York on Pentecost 
morning. He first located at South Orange, 
New Jersey, where he was employed as an 
attendant in a water cure for a time. He 
then came west tO' St. Louis, Missouri, up 
the ^lississippi river to Galena, Illinois, and 
from there proceeded to Springfield, this 
state, where he found employment in a drug 
store, having previously learned that busi- 
ness. After spending eighteen months there 
he went to Galveston, Texas, where he also 
engaged in clerking in a drug store for a 
time, and ne.xt held the position of agent and 
collector on the Galveston News. In 1856 
he returned to Springfield, Illinois, and 
clerked in a drug store until the following 
year, when he came to Lincoln. In this 
county he fir.st worked as a harvest hand. Ijut 
in the fall of 1858 enteretl the employ of 
Kelso & Boren, of Lincoln, with whom he 
remained some time. Mr. Markworth next 
engaged in getting out timber for railroad.s 
and coal shafts. He also opened a Ijrick 
vard, being engaged in the manufacture of 
brick for fifteen )-ears, and he made most of 
the brick for the Illinois Asylum fnr Feeble 
Minded Children, the poor house and many 
other buildings in Lincoln. He has since 
engaged in contracting with the railroad to 
furnish timbers, ties, piles and bridge tim- 
bers. In business affairs he has steadily 
prospered through his upright, honorable 
dealings. He is a man of keen perception 
and unbounded enterprise, and his success is 
entirely due to his own well-directed efforts. 
Mr. Markworth was elected supervisor for 
his township, and during his incumbency the 
county jail was erected, he lieing chairman 
of the committee on pulilic buildings. 



440 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



]Mr. Markworth was married in April, 
i860, to Miss Augusta Richter, of Lincoln, 
.a daughter of Frederick Richter. and to them 
were born four children : Oscar, who is 
with his father ; Emma, at home : ^linnie, 
wife of Mark MacEndree, of Chicago ; and 
William, at home. Mrs. ^Slarkworth ilied 
September 21, i88t). The}- were members 
of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of 
which he was one of the first organizers and 
.a liberal supporter. 



J. DANIEL CURRY. 

J. Daniel Curry, familiarly known as 
Uncle Dan l)y the younger generation and 
his many friends throughout Logan count}-, 
is now practically living retired on the old 
homestead in East Lincoln township, where 
he has resided continuously since 1855. He 
was born in Grant county. Kentuck}-. Janu- 
ary 13. 1822. His father. Nicholas Curry, 
was a native of Ireland, and was only fifteen 
vears of age when he came to America. 
Settling in Kentucky, he tliere married Miss 
Elizabeth Robinson, a native of that state, 
and in 1829 they can-ie with their family to 
Illinois and located in Scott county, where, 
in the midst of the timber, the father cleared 
and improved a farni of eighty acres with the 
assistance of his children. There he died at 
the age of eighty-four years, and his wife at 
the age of sixty-eight. Ten children were 
born to them, but only two are now living, 
namely : J. Daniel, the subject of this 
sketch : and Ellen, wife of William ^Nlerris. 
who lives near Decatur, Illinois. Three of 
"the family died in early childhood. 

Our suljject w-as only se\-en years i;ild on 
the remo\-al of the familv to Scott countv. 



Illinois. His early educational advantages 
were limited to a few months" attendance at 
the i)rimiti\e schools found in this state dur- 
ing his lioyhood. These structures were 
l)uilt of logs and seated with slab benches. 
Leax-ing home at the age of fourteen, he 
commenced \\-orking as a farm hand, and 
two years later went to Missouri, where the 
following two years were passed. He then 
returned to Illinois, and continued to work 
1)}- the month for se\en years, receiving ten 
dt)llars per month during the summer and 
eight dollars in winter. Saving his money, 
he was at length able to purchase two hun- 
dred acres of land in Scott county, for which 
he paid ten dollars per acre, and at once 
turned his attention to the improvement and 
culti\ation of the propertv. 

In 1847 Mr. Curry w-as married in Scott 
count}- to ]\Iiss Maria Green, a native of 
England, who was only two years old when 
Ijrought to this countrv. and is now seventv- 
three years of age. For over fifty years 
they hax'e now traveled life's journey to- 
gether, sharing its joys and sorrows, its ad- 
versity and [jrosperitv. and in 1897 cele- 
lirated their golden wedding. 

yir. Curry came to Logan county in 
1S55 ■'"'"1 purchased three hundred and 
twenty acres of land on section 16. East 
Lincoln township, which has since been his 
home. He has transformed the w-ild prairie 
into a UKist lieautiful and highly culti\-ated 
farm, making all of the improvements upon 
liis place, which is to-day one of the most de- 
sirable farms of the locality. Every dollar 
that he possesses he has made through his 
own industry and good management and the 
assistance of his estimable wife, who has 
indeed proxed a true helpmate to him. En- 
jo}-ing good health, he has been a hard 
worker, and has accumulated six hundred 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



441 



and ninety acres of valuable and well-im- 
pro\-ed land, fur which he has paid from 
twenty to one hundred dollars per acre, his 
home place costing twenty dollars. At one 
time he raised considerable stock, but he now 
rents his land and lives retired upon the 
original homestead, enjuying the fruits of 
former toil. 

During his long residence in this county 
Mr. Curry has witnessed almost its entire 
develoiMnent and upbuilding, and has ever 
borne his part in the work of improvement. 
He is to-day the second oldest resident of 
East Lincoln t<iwnship. it having been his 
liome uninterruptedly for over fort_\'-si.\- 
}'ears. and he is one of its most hon()red anil 
highly respected citizens. He has never 
sought political prominence, but as a public- 
spirited and enterprising citizens gives his 
support to all interests designed to promote 
the general welfare or for the public good. 
He is a supporter of all churches, and gives 
liberally to public enterprises calculated to 
advance the social, educational and m<iral 
interests of his communitv. 



WILLIAM P. M.\TLOCK. 

Among the prosperous citizens of Orvil 
township is \\'illiam P. Matlock, one ui 
the largest farmers and stock raisers of Lo- 
gan count}'. Illinois, who resides on section 
I, and has lived in this locality since he was 
two years of age. He has grown up with 
the community and is thoroughlv identified 
with its best interests. 

The birth of our subject occurred in 
Monroe county. Indiana. Xo\ember 7, 1850, 
and he is a son of John and Martha I Glenn ) 
Matlock. John Matlock was born in BKxjm- 



ington, Indiana. November 19, 1828, and 
his wife was born in North Carolina. Sep- 
tember 10. 1828. The grandfather of our 
subject was George Matlock, also (if Indi- 
ana, who came to Illinois in the early pioneer 
days but later returned to Indiana, where 
he died John Matlock, the father of our 
subject, came to Logan count}- in 1852 and 
settled on section 3, Orvil township, where 
he engaged in farming for six years and then 
remo\'ed to section 2 and li\ed six vears 
more. After this he located upon the farm, 
on section 2. where his widow now resides, 
and engaged in farming and stock raising 
until his death, which occurred Feljruary 2J, 
J 888. His widow now resides on the old 
homestead. Mr. Matlock added to his first 
purchase of eighty acres until at the time of 
his death he was the owner of two hundred 
and thirty-four acres of rich farming land. 

Sexen children were born to John Mat- 
lock and his wife, namely; William P.; 
Sarah A., who lives with her mother: Mary 
Jane, deceased wife of Henry Miller, of this 
county, who now resides in Missouri ; Belle, 
wife of Theodore Smallwood, of Or\il town- 
ship; Margaret A., wife of Charles ]\Iounti 
joy. of Chase county, Nebraska : Frances 
.\l\ira. who li\'es with her mother: Charles 
H., who married Flora A. R}an. now de- 
ceased, and resides upon one of the farms 
near our subject. 

Until his marriage our subject assisted 
his father upon the home farm and then con- 
ducted the farm for a few years upi m shares. 
He then moved to his present farm on section 
I . where he now owns one hundred and 
thirt}-eight acres of land. He also owns 
forty acres on section 35 and carries on gen- 
eral farming and stock raising on both 
pieces of property. 

Mr. Matlock was married in 1872 to 



442 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Miss Adra \\'estfall, of tliis ccninty, a daugh- 
ter of John and Sarah (Carnahan) West- 
fall, who were farming people of Orvil town- 
ship. The mother is now deceased and the 
father resides on a farm in Sedgwick county, 
Kansas. jNIr. and ^Irs. Matlock are the 
parents of five children, namely: Effie, wife 
of Dr. Kilby, of Mackinaw, Illinois; Nellie, 
wife of Otis Rogers, of Hartsburg, this 
count}- : ]\Iaude, who resides at home ; an 
infant who died ; John P., who died at the 
age of two years. 

In politics Mr. Matlock is a Repul)lican 
and supports the candidates of his party. 
Socially he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. Lodge No. 549, of Emden. The 
family are all members of the Bethel Chris- 
tian church of Oi ril township, and are very 
highly respected in the connnunity in which 

they reside. 

•*—*■ 

PHILIP GRUENSFELDER. 

Among the prominent farmers of Prairie 
Creek township, Logan county, Illinois, is 
Philip Gruensfelder, who has been a resident 
of this county since 1867 but is a native of 
Germany, having been born there April 3, 
1844. He is a son of John and Catherine 
(\\'ysebrodt) Gruensfelder, both natives of 
Germany, who came to America in 1846 and 
settled in Mason county, Illinois, for a short 
time, but then moved to Pekin, and in 1867 
located in Prairie Creek township, this coun- 
ty. A sliort time before his death the father 
removed to Mason county, where he ilied in 
1896, and the mother died in April, 1900. 
Three children were born to them, namely : 
Philip; Christina, wife of John Pliilip 
Adolph, of !Mason county: Elizabeth, who 
resides in Mason county with her sister. All 
were well educated in the common schools. 



Our suljject was only two years of age 
when brought by his parents to Mason coun- 
tv, and here he grew up on the farm. Later 
he removed to Pekin, Illinois, and lived there 
a short time, but soon went to Spring Lake, 
Illinois, and thence to Woodford, Illinois, 
After a short residence in the last named 
place he returned to Pekin and there engaged 
in teaming and farming until 1867, when he 
settled in Prairie Creek township, Logan 
county, near his present farm, on section 32. 
Si-x years ago he removed to his present fine 
farm on section 6, and now owns two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land, which he has 
greatlv improved and on which he carries on 
general farming and stock raising. 

On August 15, 1862, Mr. Gruensfelder 
enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and 
Eighth Illinois Infantry, and served in that 
company until March 3, 1863, when he was 
honorably discharged and transferred to 
Company K, but remained with Company E, 
under Captain Bulk and Colonel John War- 
ner. The regiment was assigned to garrison 
and guaril duty, so he only participated in 
the skirmishes during their march through 
Kentucky. Although he did his full duty as 
a soldier, he was never wounded, though 
suft'ered from the effects of the hardships 
and climate and was confined at the hospital 
at Memphis, Tennessee, and was later trans- 
ferred to the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, on 
December 25, 1863, remaining there until he 
was discharged. [March 3, 1864, when he 
returned to A\'oodford, Illinois. 

In 1872 our subject married Miss Mary 
Fisher, of this county, step-daughter of 
Henrv Switzer, now deceased. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gruensfelder have had twelve chil- 
dren, namelv: John, who married Annie 
Smith, lives in Prairie Creek township; 
Henrv, who resides in the same town- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



443 



ship; Charles, Christina, PhiHp, Jr., Katie, 
PaiiHna, iNIary Lydia and Louis, all at 
home; two infants, who died unnamed; 
and ^\'illie, who died at the age of one year. 
This interesting family is one of which both 
father and mother may well be proud, and 
when these good people are surrounded by 
theii' children and grandchildren there is 
much food for reflection upon the powerful 
effect good example and careful training has 
upon the coming generations. The influence 
e.xerted by two good, conscientious, Chris- 
tian people is almost undying, for it lives 
after them almost indefinitely. 

]Mr. Gruensf elder is a Republican in poli- 
tics, and while always supporting the candi- 
dates of his party, he has never felt that he 
had the time to spare to accept nomination 
at the hands of his fellow townsmen, well as 
he is fitted for office, being just the kind of 
a man who should hold the aff'airs of state 
ill his hands, as he is thoroughly honorable 
and steadfast in the discharge of what he 
considers his duty. Both he and his most 
estimable wife are very earnest members of 
the German Methodist church of San Jose. 

All of his life our subject has been a 
hard-working, industrious man, and that his 
efforts have been crowned with success his 
delightful home, surrounded with beautiful 
shade trees, set in the midst of fertile fields 
and supplied with every con\'enience, demon- 
strates, as well as the high respect and esteem 
in which he is held by all who know him and 
honor his past as a brave, loyal, patriotic 
soldier, a true-hearted private citizen, a kind 
and generous neighbor, a devoted father and 
husband and a devout and liberal member 
and supportei' of the church of which he has 
been one of the pillars for many years. Mrs. 
Gruensfelder, in caring for their children 
and rearing them to useful manhood and 



womanhood, assisting her husband in his 
many enterprises in the home, the church 
antl for the good of the communit}-, has 
imnen herself a worthy helpmate for our 
sulaject. 



ALLEX HAIXLIXE. 

After years of honest toil, mostly de- 
voted to agricultural pursuits, Allen Hain- 
line is now li\'ing a retired life upon his farm 
in Eminence township. He is a native of 
Illinois, born in Tazewell county, December 
1 8, 1840, and is one of the four children in 
the family of Green and Esther (Allen) 
Hainline. His maternal grandfather was 
Solomon Allen, a Pennsylvanian by birth, 
who followed farming throughout his active 
business life and spent his declining years in 
Springfield. Illinois, in ease and quiet, dying 
in that city about 1870. He was cpiite a 
prominen.t dnd influential man of his com- 
munity, and was elected to the state legisla- 
ture. Henry Hainline. our subject's pater- 
nal grandfather, was a native of Kentucky 
and a representative of one of the first fam- 
ilies of that state. Green Hainline, the 
father of our subject, was also born in Ken- 
tucky, in 18 1 6, and in the early "30s came 
with his parents to Illinois, the family lo- 
cating in Hittle's Grove, Tazewell county, 
where he subsecjuently took up land and fol- 
lowed farming with marked success until his 
death, which occurred March 18, 190 1. 

During his bo}"hood Allen Haiifline pur- 
sued his studies in the district schools near 
his home, and when not in school worked 
Avith his father in the fields until he attained 
his majoritv, when he began farming on his 
own. account, \Mien the Civil war broke 



444 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



out lie uffered his .ser\-ices to the c(_)untn', 
enhsting in i86j in Company E, Seventh 
Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, under Captain 
John A. Smith, and immediately went south. 
He participated in manv engagements, in- 
cluding the fight at Altoona Pass, where, 
out of a company of eighty-six, seventy-three 
were either killed or wounded. He re- 
mained in the serxice until Imstilities ceased, 
and was honorably discharged in July, 1865. 

Returning to his home in L< igan county 
yir. Hainline resumed farming, and ha? 
since de\-oted his time and altentii m tii that 
occupation, though he is now practically liv- 
ing a retired life. He owns a good farm in 
Eminence township, where he continues to 
make his home. On the 22A of Alarch. 
1865, he w'as united in marriage with Miss 
Anna M. Judy, a daughter of Jacob Judy, 
who is one of Logan county's oldest and 
most highly respected citizens, being now in 
his ninety-eighth vear. and wlm nnw makes 
his home in Atlanta. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hainline were l)orn 
the following children: Lida, born .Vugust 
10, 1867, is the wife iif C. C. Bishop, who is 
now living in North Dakota : Carrie ^I., born 
June 17, 1869, is the wife of \\'. A. Sum- 
mers, of the same state; Imogene, born De- 
cember 15, 1871, is the wife of A. C. Houser, 
also a resident of North Dakota: U'alter J., 
born October 18, 1873. married Chloe Schec- 
ler. of Danville, Illinois, and is now livingi 
in North Dakota: and Anna G.. born June 
16. 1876, is the wife of Eugene Schults, and 
they reside on the old homestead with our 
subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hainline are faithful mem- 
bers of the Eminence Christian church, and 
he is a stanch supporter of the Pnihibition 
party. As a citizen he has alwa}-s been true 
and faithful to every trust reposed in him, so 



that his loyalt}- is abo\'e question, being man- 
ifested in (lays of peace as well as when he 
followed the old flag to victory on southern 
battlefields. He was formerly a memlier of 
Armington Post, G. A. R., which is no 
longer in existence. 



JOHN A. CRITCHFIELD. 

John A. Critchfield, one of the honored 
early settlers of this county, who is now liv- 
ing a retired life in Broadwell, was born 
March i. 1834. in Nashville. Holmes 
county, Ohio, and is a son of Elza and 
Fanny (Miller) Critchfield, both of whom 
died when our subject was only fi\'e years 
old. The father was of German descent 
and a cooper by trade. In his famil}' were 
three children: Johnson, who died in Ken- 
tuck}- of cholera in 1855: John A., of this 
review: and Mar_\- S.. wife of Henry ]\Iy- 
grants, a resident of Warren, Indiana. 

After the death of their parents the sons 
went to Ii\-e with their mother's brijther, 
Uncle John Miller, and in 1842 they ac- 
companied him on his removal to southern 
Illinois. He was a cabinet maker and car- 
penter by trade. Our subject received his 
education in the early schools of this state 
and remained with his uncle until about 
nineteen \'ears of age. As a }'oung man he 
made a business of breaking cattle for turn- 
ing the sod on the prairies of Illinois, and 
in the summer would hire out to break 
prairie. On leaving the home of his uncle 
lie was employed by the month as a team- 
ster, traveling to and from St. Louis, being 
an experienced cattle dri\er at that time. 
His ser\-ices were alwa\s in demand, and 
for six months he was employed l)y a ped- 
dler in Jefferson county, Illinois. For a 




J. A. CRITCHFIELD. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



447 



time he was engaged in hauling logs to St. 
Louis with ox-teams. 

The winter of 1853-4 Air. Critchfield 
spent in the swamps of Louisiana. On his 
return to Illinois he purchased a team and 
began lousiness as a huckster, traveling be- 
tween St. Louis and Jefferson county. For 
a time he engaged in teaming during the 
summer months, and in shipping to Xew 
Orleans during the winter. He worked at 
anything by which he could earn an iKinest 
dollar and in that way secured a start in 
li fe. 

In 1S58 Mr. Critchfield was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Kline, who was 
li\-ing with her parents in Logan county, 
and in the fall after their marriage the 
\oung couple settled on a farm in this coun- 
ty. Our suljject first came to this locality 
in 1X55 with a dro\-er from Kentucky, 
and remained nearly a year, and located 
permanently here in 1858. He improved 
a farm of one hundred acres in this county, 
and also owns one of eighty acres in Ver- 
milion county, and forty acres in Elkh.nrt 
township, which he bought later, besides 
his home place of one hundred acres on 
section 34, Broadwell township. He has 
alwavs been a \'er\- active man and sticcess 
has attended his v.ell-directed and energetic 
efforts. Stcjck-raising has been his spe- 
cialty, and he has found that business quite 
profitable. 

Mr. Critchfield's first wife died in 1881. 
and later, in 1886. he married }.Iiss Lucv 
M. Lloyd, who was born in Bmadwc^ll 
township in 1S57. They now make their 
home in the village of Broadwell, as he has 
retired from active labor and can enjoy a 
Vicll earned rest. 

When Mr. Critchfield came to this 
county there were but few settled on the 

24 



prairie, and he assisted in laying out some 
of the roads. He was the first supervisor of 
Broadwell township. For twenty-five years 
he served as justice (A the peace, and held 
school offices for several years. Politically 
lie has always been identified with the Dem- 
ocratic party, and has capalily discharged 
the duties of every office he has been called 
u])on to fill. Since a young man he has 
been connected with the Independent Or-" 
der of Odd I'ellcjws, and now holds mem- 
bershi]) in the lodge at Elkhart, and has 
passed through all the chairs in both that 
and the blue lodge of the Alasonic frater- 
nity at the same place. Religiously he is a 
l)roniinent member and an elder in the 
Christiaji church, a teacher in the Sunday 
school, and has been x'ice-president of the 
County .Sunday School .vssociation. He 
has always gi\en lilierally to the su])])ort 
of all church and philrmthro]_)ic wurk, and 
has taken great delight in aiding those in 
rieed. His life has been manly, his actions 
sincere, and his example is well worthy of 
emulation. 

■» ' » 

FR.VXK HOERR. 

Frank Hoerr, deceased, was one of the-, 
leading farmers and mo.st highly esteemed, 
citizens of Atlanta township. He was born; 
in Hesse-Darmstadt. Germany, on the 24th 
of June. 1835, and was one of a familv of 
eight children, four sons and four daughters^ 
whose parents were John and Katherine 
C Bitch) Hoerr. also natives of that place. 
The father died when our subject was onlv 
twelve years old and the mother subseciuently 
married John Bauers. Her death occurred 
in 1866. 

Mr. Hoerr lived at home with his mother 



448 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and step-fatlier until .se\eiiteen years of age, 
-when he deciiled to tr_\- his fortune in the 
new world. It was in 1852 that he crosseil 
the broad Atlantic, and after spending two 
weeks in New York went to Ohio, where he 
resided with his uncle, \'alentine Hoerr, ior 
a time. Being anxious to embark in busi- 
ness for himself, he made his way farther 
west and stopped in Logan county, Illinois, 
where he found employment with J. Gordon, 
of Atlanta township, with whom he remainetl 
two years. He next worked for A. Reise as 
a farm hand by the month, receiving a small 
compensation for his services. \Miile in the 
employ of these gentlemen he lived economi- 
cally and managed to sa\-e a small amount 
of money. ]\Ir. Hoerr then learned the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he followed in Atlanta 
for four years, and on selling out at the end 
of that time he resumed farming, operating 
a rented farm in Atlanta township until 
1886, when he purchased a farm comprisins.) 
eighty acres, to which he subsequently added 
a tract of twenty acres, and still later a tract 
of eighty acres, making one humlred and 
eighty acres in all. This farm is still the 
home of the family, and is now carried on b\! 
his son, John H.. who was appointed admin- 
istrator of the estate and is carefully looking 
after his mother's interests. 

On the 2d of January, 1862, ^Ir. Hoerr 
was united in marriage with Miss Rosina 
Kauzleiter, who was also born in German)-, 
October 20, 1836, and is a daughter of 
Christian K. and Barbara (Wohlfahrt) 
Kautzleiter. Her father, who was a well- 
to-do farmer and stock raiser, died in 1870, 
imd the mother passed away in 1880. INlrs. 
Hoerr emigrated to the United States in 
1859. By her marriage to our subject she 
became the mother of eight children, three 
sons and five daughters, of whom four died 
in infancy. Those living are Elizabeth, now 



]\Irs. J. \\'. Hilpert; Emeline, wife of L. L. 
Gro\es ; and Katherine and John H., both 
at honie with their mother. 

Mr. Hoerr died January J5, 1899, leav- 
ing a host of warm friends as well as his 
immediate family tO' mourn his loss. His 
political support was always given the 
Democratic party, and he was a devout 
member of the German Presbyterian church. 
He was noted for his liberality and kind 
deeds, and he commanded the respect and 
confidence of his fellow citizens in a marked 
degree. He was de\'oted to his home and 
faniilv. making every sacrifice for their bene- 
fit, and in his death the community realized 
that it had lost a valued citizen. His widow- 
is a member of the E\'angelical Lutheran 
church and a most estimable lady, while his 
children hold membership in the Christian 
church. 



OSCAR J. LUCAS. 

^\'itll wide and thorough experience in 
the bank'ing business to fit him for his pres- 
ent duties. Oscar J. Lucas is now conducting 
the private bank owned by the firm of A. H. 
Lucas & Son, his father being the senior 
]iartner. This institution has rapidly found 
fax'or with. the business public and now re- 
cei\-es a liljeral patronage. It is under the 
immediate supervision of the gentleman 
whose name introduces this review and who 
is widely known as an enterprising, progress- 
ive and reliable financier. 

Mr. Lucas was born upon his father's 
farm in iNIt. Pulaski township, August 22, 
1862, and represents a prominent old family 
of Logan county, his parents Ijeing A. H.and 
Mary J. (Brock) Lucas, and he their only 
son. The father was Ijorn in this county in 
1833, but the mother is a native of Ohio, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



449 



whence she came to Illinois in her earl}' girl- 
hood days. Through the years of an active 
business career A. H. Lucas has carried on 
agricultural pursuits and is now a prosper- 
ous farmer of Logan county, owning a tract 
of land of eight hundred acres. He is also 
one of the stockholders and directors of the 
First National Bank of Mt. Pulaski, and in 
1891 he organized the Latham Bank, which 
is the only bank in the town, and of which 
his son now has charge. 

Oscar J. Lucas was reared and educated 
in ]\It. Pulaski township, attending the dis- 
trict schools there and latei' continuing his 
literary course in the Mt. Pulaski high 
school. Subsequent!}- he prepared for busi- 
ness life as a student in the Gem City Com- 
mercial College, of Ouincy, Illinois, and 
u])on completing the course there he re- 
turned to his home, and for two years de- 
A oted his time and attention to farming. On 
the expiration of that period he accepted a 
position in the Sangamon County Bank, at 
Jlliopolis, where he remained for fifteen 
months, when he entered the First National 
Bank of Mt. Pulaski, where he was employed 
for si.x months. He next became agent for 
the Mt. Pulaski Grain Company, but re- 
signed that position after thirteen months 
and returned to the First National Bank, 
where he remained until the organization of 
the Latham Bank, when, entering into part- 
nership with his father, he took charge of 
the institution and has since been its man- 
ager, making it an enterprise worthy of trust 
and patronage. He has a thorough knowl- 
edge of the banking business in all its de- 
partments and is an enterprising, wide- 
awake young business man. 

On December 7, 1892, Mr. Lucas was 
united in marriage to Miss Nettie B. Con- 
stant, of Illiopolis, who died December 12, 
1896. On the 25th of April, 1901, he was 



again married, his second union being with 
Esther K. Kiick, of Latham, the youngest 
daughter of John and Catherine Kiick, her 
father a prominent and well-to-do citizen of 
Latham. Mr. Lucas is a prominent Mason, 
belonging to Latham Lodge, No. 853, A. F. 
& A. M. ; Kedron Chapter, No. 139, R. A. 
M., of Illiopolis, Illinois; and Mt. Pulaski 
Commandery, No. 39, K. T. ; has attained 
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite 
in Peoria Consistory, and also belongs to 
^iahommet Temple of the Mystic Shrine, 
Peoria. His entire life has been passed in 
Logan county, with the exception of the very 
brief period spent at Illiopolis, and therefore 
he is widely known. Many of his warmest 
friends are those who have known him from 
boyhood — a fact which indicates that his 
career is one commanding respect. He is a 
prominent representative of an honored pio- 
neer family and well deserves mention 
among the leading citizens of his native 
count\'. 



EDWARD E. RITTER. 

This well-known contractor .and builder, 
of whose skill many notable examples are 
seen in Lincoln, was born in Mason county, 
Illinois, on the 30th gf October, 1866. He 
is the fourth in order of birth in a family of 
nine children, whose parents are AVilliam T. 
and Elizabeth (Richardson) Ritter, a sketch 
of whom appears on another page of this, 
volume. Our subject's early educational 
privileges were rather limited, as he was 
only able to attend school about three months 
during the year. 

Mr. Ritter grew to manhood in Lincoln, 
and learned the carpenter's trade with his 
father, to whom he gave the benefit of his 
labors until he attained his majority. He 



4,50 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



then worked as a journeyman until 1896, 
\\iien he commenced contracting and build- 
ing on his own account. In 1901 he erected 
the Deaconess Home and Hospital, at a cost 
of twenty-three thousand dollars. The hos- 
pital is one hundred and six feet front, isi 
three stories in height, with basement, and 
contains seventy-fl\-e rooms. It is supplied 
with all modern impro\ements. is heated by 
steam anil lighted by electricity and gas. 
This magnificent structure is under the man- 
agement of the St. John's Evangelical Lu- 
theran Association. 

On the 5:h of September. 1889. Mr. Rit- 
ter was united in marriage with Miss Mar- 
garet Welsh, who was born in Champaign. 
Illinois, and is a daughter of Daniel and 
Susan (Blower) Welsh, old and honored 
citizens of this place. By this union were 
born four children, namely : Mal)el, Rich- 
artl P.. Helen and Ella Lee. The family 
residence is at Xo. 22^ Fourth street. Lin- 
coln. Mr. Ritter is a prominent member 
and past sachem of the Impro\ed Order of 
Red Men. and is a man liighly respected and 
esteemed l)v all who know him. 



JOHN STROXC. 

For si.\ty-fi\'e years this gentleman has 
been numbered among the honored residents 
of Logan county, his home being in Emi- 
nence township, two miles west of Atlanta, 
and as an agriculturist he has taken an active 
part in the develoimient and uplniilding of 
the count\'. He was born in (ireene county, 
Ohio, Septeml)er j, 1829. and is one of the 
three children in the family of Sylvester and 
Elizabeth ( Downe}" ) Strong, pioneers of 
Atlanta township, where they locatetl in 
1836. on an eighty-acre tract secured from 



tiie government. The father was born in 
Cincinnati. Ohio. Septeml)er 3. 1805. and 
was the onh- child of Xathaniel and Lois 
Strong. As his father died previous to his 
Ijirth. he was taken in infancy by an uncle, 
Benjamin Strong, and was reared in Greene 
county, Ohio, his educational privileges 
being meager. On reaching manhood he 
was married in that county, November 6, 
1828. to Miss Elizabeth Downe_\-, who was 
born in .\dams county. Ohio, September 3, 
1809, and was a daughter of James and 
Mary Downe}-. The children born of thi& 
uni(.)n were as follows: John, iiur subject; 
Mar\' ].. a resident of Atlanta, and the wife 
of C. AI. Turner: and Emma, deceased wife 
of Andrew Turner. The father was an ex- 
cellent manager and was \ery successful in 
his farming operations after coming to this 
county. In politics he was a Repuljlican, 
and was a personal friend of Abraham Lin- 
coln. He made his home in Atlanta town- 
ship until his death, which occurred January 
4 1900, and his wife departed this life De- 
cember 29, 1898. Tiius passed away two 
of Logan county's most prominent pioneers 
and highly respected citizens. 

The subject of this sketch was aljout 
he\en years of age when he came with his 
parents to this county, and his early life was 
passed in much the usual manner of the 
average bo\' in a frontier settlement. He 
received a good country school education, 
and aided his father in the work of the hom& 
farm until 1854, when he began farming for 
iiimself on the one-hundred-and-sixty-acre 
tract which constitutes his present fine farm 
in Eminence township, it being well im- 
]ir(i\-ed and under a high state of culti\ation. 
It is situated on section 24, t(jwnship 21. 
range 2 west. 

On the 25th of January, 1855, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Strong and Miss 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



451 



Cerelda Pratt, a daughter of Lanson and 
Sarah ( McManes ) Pratt. He was origin- 
ally from Vermont, and from that state re- 
mo\-ed to Ohio, and in 1854 he located in 
Atlanta township, Logan county, Illinois, 
where he resided until the death of Mrs. 
Pratt in 1856. Later he married again and 
removed to Fulton count}-, where he resided 
up to a short time prior to his death, which 
occurred in Delavan, Illinuis, in 1884, and 
his remains are interred in the .\tlanta cem- 
etery by the side of his fir.st wife. Air. Pratt 
was a school teacher, having taught for over 
forty years. He liecame one of the foremost 
educators of Ohio, and Prof. David Swing, 
of Chicago, was one of his pupils. Four 
children lilessecl the union of Air. and Mrs. 
Strong, namely: Anna M., born December 
29, 1855, is now the wife of T. B. Foggy and 
a resident of South Dakota. She first mar- 
ried Henry McWhinney. and by this union 
had one son. Clinton. Charles F., born Xo- 
vember 5, 1857, and Lyman T., Ijorn April 
4, i860, are also living in South Dakota. 
Lucy \\'., born July 26, 1862, is now matron 
of the Home for Feeble Alinded Children at 
Lincoln, Illinois. 

As a Republican Air. Strong takes quite 
an active and prominent part in local poli- 
tics, and has efficiently served as commis- 
sioner in Eminence township nine years, as- 
sessor two years and has served as super- 
visor of the township for ten years. Airs. 
Strong holds membership in the Christian 
■church, and both stand high in the esteem of 
their fellow citizens. 



JACOB MOTZ. 

There is no element which has entered 
into our composite national life which has 
given it more strength than that furnished by 



the honest, thrifty and persevering sons of 
Germany. Among the multitudes who in 
their youth united in singing the "Watch on 
the Rhine." then left its crowded shores to 
help swell the chorus of "America." was 
Jacob Alotz.who was born in Germany June 
21, 1826, and was one of a family of five 
children. His parents li\ed and died in the 
Fatherland. 

Jacob Alotz came to the United States in 
1854 and located in Ohio, where he engaged 
in fanuing. He returned to Germany in 
1859 and remained there about two years. 
On again coming to the L'nited States he 
settled in Logan county, Illinois, where he 
manufactured brick in connection with farm- 
ing for six years. In the fall of 1866 lie 
located in Atlanta township, where he made 
his home for eight years, and then removed 
to Oran township and engaged in agricul- 
ture. He owned land in both Atlanta and 
Oran townships. He was a stanch sup- 
porter of the Democratic i)arty. 

In the spring of i860 Air. Alotz was 
united in marriage with Aliss Alary Tross, 
a daughter of Christian Tross, an e.xtensive 
grain dealer of Germany. Air. Alotz and his 
wife liecame the parents of three children, 
one of whom died in infancy. Their daugh- 
ter Alary, who was born X'ovember 2, 1873, 
is now the wife i:>f Adolph Grcjss and resides 
en the old homestead. Their marriage oc- 
curred January 14, 1900. The parents of 
Air. Gross, as well as himself, were originally 
from German)-. Fred Alotz, son of our sub- 
ject, was born January 24, 1866, and also 
resides at home with his aged mother. He 
carries on the work so ably begun by his hon- 
ored father, and is recognized as one of the 
leading young farmers of Logan county, 
willing at all times to assist in anything per- 
taining to the gocxl of his county. 

Jacob Alotz died October 31. 1891, at his 



452 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



home in Logan county, surrounded by those 
whom lie loved and for whom he had la- 
bored, and by them his memory is lovingly 
cherished. 



JOHN H. LARISON. 

One of the most distinguished and prom- 
inent citizens of East Lincoln township is 
John 11. Larison, vice-president of the Lin- 
coln Logan County Farmers' Mutual Firo 
Insurance Company. He claims Illinois as 
his nati\-e state, his l)irth ha.ving occurred in 
McLean county, September ,^o, 1848. His 
parents, James M. and Margaret C. (Ham- 
mitt) Larison, were among the honored pio- 
neers of this section of the state. The 
father was born in Morgan count)', Ohio, 
March 17, 181J, and in 1830 came to Illinois 
with his parents, Abel and Katie Larison, 
the family locating in McLean county on the 
l<resent site of the citx- of Hloomington, then 
known as the Blooming Grove settlement, 
where they remained one winter, the follow- 
ing spring taking up government land norih 
of \\'a}nes\ille, on which they resided a 
number of years and where the grandmother 
died. Her husband, .\bel Larison, died in 
Galen;i, lllim lis.and the iinl\- member i>f their 
famly now li\ing is .\bel Larison, Jr., aged 
eighty years, his home be'ing in Atlanta 
township, Log-an coimty, on land which he 
entered from the go\ernment. The paternal 
ancestors nf nur subject were of Danish 
origin, and the maternal of Irish extraction, 

James M. Larison was married near 
W'aynesville, DeW'ilt county, about 1834, ti; 
Miss Margaret Hammitt, who was born in 
Muskitigum county, Ohio, October 8, 1814, 
and had come west with her parents a few 
months prior to her marriage. In 1835 Mr, 
and Mrs. Larison remo\-ed to Brooks Gro\'c. 



near Stanford, McLean county, where all of 
their children were born, and in 1850 they 
came to Logan count}-, making this their 
liiime tbniugb(jul the remainder of their 
lives. The father entered government land 
in McLean county, and in Logan county 
paid six, eight and ten dollars per acre for 
tracts which he purchased, owning and op- 
erating three hundred and se\-enteen acres 
until his retirement from, active labur in 
1884. He then removed to Lincoln, where 
he died in 1890, at the age of seventy-five 
}ears, nine months and seventeen days. His. 
wife died February 17, 1895, at the age of 
eighty-one \-ears, four months and eight 
tlays, and the remains of both were interred 
in Zion cemetery. Both came of long-lived 
families. During their early residence in 
this state they endured many of the hardships 
and pri\ations incident to pioneer life, St. 
Louis and Chicago being their ])rincipal mar- 
ket places in those days, Mr. Larison was- 
one of the committee appointed to lay out 
many of the roads in this C(-)unty, and in 
many ways materially aided in its de\-elop- 
ment and upbuilding. He had receixed a 
fair education and was a well-posted man, 
who took an active interest in all philati- 
thropic enterprises, and during the Ci\'il war 
ga\e liberalh" of his time and means in aiil- 
ing the widows and orphans of those who 
lost their li\-es on southern battlefields. The 
Republican ])art\' always found in him a 
stanch su])porter of its principles, and he held 
some scho<)l and township offices, but never 
sought political honors. He was wideh- and 
favorabl}' known thi'oughout th.e count\-, and 
is deser\ing of prominent mention on her 
roll of honored pioneers. 

John H. Larison, of this review, is the 
youngest in a family of si.x children, the 
others being as follows: Ruth H. is now 
the widow of John T. Butler, of Kansas 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



453 



City, Missouri. Thomas Perry died Janu- 
ary ;^o, 1901, in Trinity county, California, 
where he located in i860. Aroline is the 
wife of William TiKjmey, of Gett}shurg. 
South Dakota. Samuel H. lived for a time 
in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, but returned 
to Lincoln, and died at the home of his 
mother at the age of forty-seven years. At 
the beginning- of the Civil war he entered in 
the Second Illinois Ca\-alry, and later re-en- 
listed as first lieutenant in the One Hundred 
and Forty-fifth Illinois Infantry. Green 
Berry also served one year in the Second Illi- 
nois Cavalry, and is now a resident of Potta- 
wattamie county. Ii)wa. 

The l)n\li(]<ifl and voulh of our subject 
were passed in East Lincoln township, at- 
tending school in winter and assisting his 
father on the farm through the summer 
months. On the completion of his education 
at the age of nineteen years, he devoted his 
entire attention to the farm work. He re- 
mained under the jiarental roof until he was 
married, April 6, 1871, to Miss Mary B. 
I'taNc, a daughter of Frederick and Sarah J. 
( Vezy) Rave. The mother died at the home 
of our subject in 1889. Mrs. Larison was 
born in Blo(jmington, Illinois, February 28, 
1849, and was educated in the common 
schools cjf Marion county. She has two sis- 
ters li\-ing: I*"lora E.. wife of S. G. Siilner, of 
Silver City, Iowa; and Helen, wife of John 
Layman, of Abilene, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs 
Larison have one son. Earl J., who was Ijorn 
in Pottawattamie count}', Iowa. Julv 3, 1877. 
and is now a well-educated and a thorough 
business man, li\ing upon his father's land 
He married Miss Lillie F. Musick and thev 
have one child, Zella B. 

For five years after his marriage Mr. 
Larison resifled ujjon his father's farm, and 
then purchased one hundred and si.xtv acres 
at ten dollars per acre. 'J"o the impro\-ement 



and cultivation of that place he devoted hi?} 
energies for nine years, and then sold it for 
forty dollars per acre. He then spent six 
months in southern Kansas and a short time 
in Missouri. On his return to Illinois he 
bought his present farm of one hundred and 
twenty-two acres on section 19, East Lincoln 
township, for which he paid eight thousand 
dollars. He has since made many improve- 
ments upon the place, and is successfully en- 
gaged in its operation, being an enterprising 
fariuer and a luan of goo(l Ijusiness ability. 
He is now vice-president and a director of 
the Lincoln Logan County Farmers' Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company. 

In liis political afliliations Mr. Larison i? 
a Ke])ublican. and has filled several township 
offices, but has never sought political hr)nors. 
Socially he is a member (jf Lincoln Lodge, 
]. O. O. F., and religiously both he and hisi 
wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
])al church, in which he is serving as steward. 
He is a worthy representative of that clas? 
of citizens who lead (juiet, industrious, hon- 
est and useful lives and constitute the best 
portion of a community. 



GEORGI-: \V. SIEBERT. 

.\mong the reliable, substantial gnd i)ros- 
])erous farmers of Eminence township, there 
is i)robably none who stands higher in the 
])ublic estimation than George W. Seibert, 
whose home is on section 28. He was born 
in Champaign county, Ohio, September 16, 
i8f)0, and came with his i)arents to this 
count}' in the fall of 1863. His father, 
Jacob Siebert. was born Se])tember 7, 1832, 
in Champaign county, Ohio, and was a son 
<if John and Katherine (Bowers) Sieljert, 
nati\es of Pennsylvania and \'irginia respec- 



454 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tively, in whose family were six children. 
In 1863 Jacob Siebert came to Logan conn- 
ty, Illinois, and here he snccessfnlly engaged 
in farming ihroughont the remainder of his 
life. In 1864 he purchased a farm of eighty 
acres on sections 28 and 29. Eminence town- 
ship, tM which he sulisequentlv added unlil 
he had three hundred and twenty acres un- 
der a high state of cultivation and well 
imprnved. He was married tn ^lis^ 
]\lnry C Printz, of Clarke county, Ohio, 
and to them were Ijorn the following chil- 
dren : Katherine E., wife of David Gil- 
christ, whose sketch appears on another page 
of this \iilume; Eleanc;ra. who died in July, 
1871 ; George ^\^, our subject; Jcihn D. ; 
Carrie C. : and Jacob E. 

Jacob Siebert was one of the most 
pmminent and influential citizens nf his com- 
munity, and his death, which occurred Feb- 
ruary 17, i8q8, was felt throughout the 
township l)\- a host of friends as well as by 
a large family connection who were left to 
mourn his loss. He was one of the oldest 
Odd h'ellows of the county, holding mem- 
Ijershi]) in Atlanta Lodge, and was a stanch 
supporter t)f the Democratic party. He 
served as road commissioner several years, 
and also as school trustee a number of years, 
the duties nl which positions he most capabl_\' 
and satisfactorily performed. 

The earl)- education of nur subject was 
o1)tained in the district scIidoIs near his box- 
htuKl home, and he ac(|uired a thorough 
knowledge of agricultural pursuits while as- 
sisting his father in the operation of the 
farm. At the age of twenty-two he left the 
parental roof and commenced fanuing for 
himself upon a tract of eighty acres. He 
now has an undivided interest in three hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Eminence town- 
ship, which he inherited on the death of his 



father, and which constitutes one of the best 
farms in the localitv. 

]\Ir. Siebert was married, September 20, 
1893, to Miss Jennie B. Ward, a daughter 
of John \\'ard, of \\'est Lincoln township, 
and they now have three chiklren, namelv : 
Rulw C, born February 12, 1S95 ; Helen L., 
born Xo\-ember 5, 1896; and MoJlie L., 
born October 24, 1898. 

Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Siebert are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and socially he is also connected with the 
Modern Woodmen of America and the In- 
dependent Order of Mutual Aid. Political- * 
ly he is a sujjporter of the Democracy, and i 
he has filled the office of school director, but J 
he has never cared for public positions, pre- 
ferring to give his entire time and attention 
to his farming interests and to his home and 
family. lie is \-ery popular in the com- 
nuuiity where he has so long made his home, 
and his circle of friends seems only limited 
b}- his circle <jf acquaintances. 



H. PEXDLETOX PURNIAXCE. 

Since 1873 this gentleman has been a 
resident of Logan county and is the present 
popular supervisor of Chester town.ship. 
He was born on the 22d of Xoveniber, 
1859. in Tazewell county, Illinois, a son of 
\\'illiam H. and Sarah (Mitchell) Purvi- 
ance, the foriuer of French and the latter 
of German and Scotch-Irish ancestry. The 
father was born near Pleasant Plains, San- 
gamon count\-, this state, and was only 
three years old when he accompanied his 
parents on their removel to Tazewell coun- 
t\", where in later years he owned and op- 
erated a farm. Selling that place in 1873, 
he came to Logan county, and is now living 




H. P. PURVIANCE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



457 



in Linci)lii at the age of seventx-three vears. 
In early life he affiliated with the Whig 
party, hut is now a Democrat in politics. 
He is an active and faithful memher of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, to which 
liis wife also belonged. She died in Kansas 
in 1887. They had tix'e children, one of 
whom died in infancy, the others being 
Mary B.. wife of W. B. Dilley. of :\Iaroa, 
Illinois: H. Pendleton, the subject of this 
sketch: James A., a farmer of Guthrie, 
Oklahoma: and \\illiam C. a retired farm- 
er of Mt. Pulaski. Ilinois. 

Tlie primary education of our subjecl: 
was accjuired in the district schools of his 
nati\'e countv. and after tlie remo\'al of the 
family to Logan county, when he was thir- 
teen years of age, he attended the public 
schools here for a short time. He the;i 
took an electixx course at Linciiln Univer- 
sity, where he was a sttulent for four years. 
After that he engaged in teaching for seven 
\ears in the school district where he now 
lives. 

On the 15th of October. 1885. in Lo- 
gan county, was celebrated the marriage of 
Mr. Purviance and ]\Iiss Clara L. Denny, 
who was born in Chester t(jwnship, May 
24, 1859, and is a daughter of Thomas H. 
and Mary L. Denny. The father died in 
1880. but the mother is still living on the 
home farm. She has five children living: 
^^'illiam C, a farmer of Chester township: 
Thomas, principal of a high school in St. 
Paul. Minnesota: Albert "SI., a real estate 
dealer of AX'ichita. Kansas, where he pre- 
viously served as county clerk for eight 
}ears: James Edgar, a farmer of East Lin- 
coln township, this county: and Clara L., 
wife of our subject. One daughter. Ella, 
nnarried Dr. James ^\'alsh and died in 
1887, leaving one son, Herman E. ]\Irs. 



Purviance attended Ijoth the district 
schools and Lincoln University. Of the 
four children born to our subject and his 
wife, one dietl in infancy and one at the 
age of four years. Those living are Pearl 
L.. who was born in 1887, and is now a 
student of Lincoln University: and Rav- 
mond P., who was born in 1889. and is at- 
tending the district schools. 

For four years after his marriage Mr. 
Purviance operated his father's farm, and 
then rented land of Mr. Fole\-, now having 
control of five hundred and thirty acres. 
In connection with general farming he car- 
ries on stock-raising and dairying, and is 
meeting with fair success. He is promi- 
nently identified with the political interests 
of his township, and in April. 1900, was 
elected super\-isor, which office his is now 
accepta,bl}' filling, being chairman of the! 
committee on public buildings and a mem- 
l)er of tiie committee on paupers. He also 
has filled the offices of town clerk twelve 
years and road commissioner three years, 
while his wife has served as school director 
three years. She is a member of the Chris- 
tian church and a most estimable lady. 
In religious belief Mr. Purviance is a Pres- 
byterian, and gives liberally to the support 
of church and charitable work. Sfxially'he 
and Mrs. Purviance are members of the 
Modern American Camp at Lincoln, and he 
is a man of prominence in his localitv. 



ISAAC HOLLAND. 



Isaac Holland, deceased, for many years 
a resident cf Logan county, was one of the 
most highly respected citizens of Sheridan 
township where his memory is ciierished by 



458 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a wide circle of friends. He was Ijorn in 
]\Ienard county, Illinois, August 14, 183O. 
His parents were Henry and Ann ( Wilson) 
Holland, the father, a native of Kentucky 
and the mother of Pennsylvania. They 
settled near Oakford, Illinois, but later 
moved to Logan county and here engaged in 
farming until their death. 

In 1870 our subject was married to Hen- 
rietta Andrews, a native of Alason county, 
Illinois, and a daughter of John Andrews, 
now deceased, who always li\-ed in Mason 
county. To Mr. and ]^Irs. Holland were 
born a family of eight children, namely : 
Lawson H., who resides in Lincoln : 
Neva; Jennie L. ; Charles L., deceased; 
Daisy ; Charles ; Harry and Ruby. On Oc- 
tober I, 190 1, Miss Neva was married to 
Henry Wertzel, of New Holland, and on 
the same day. Miss Jennie married Herbert 
Losee, of Dwight, Li\-ingston county. 

When Mr. Holland settled on the home 
farm as it is now called, it was wild prairie 
land and he made all of the improvements 
and lived there \ery comfortably until his 
untimely death, January 10, igoi. His wid- 
ow and children now reside on the iild 
homestead, located on the southeast quarter 
of section 27, Sheridan township. Mrs. 
Holland owns two hundred acres and carries 
on farming and general stock raising very 
successfully. 

In politics ]\lr. Holland was a Democrat 
and while not an office seeker he served his 
])arty and townsmen as school director and 
trustee for several years. The success which 
attended his efforts was entirel}' due to his 
own careful management and hard work and 
he not only succeeded in gathering together 
a comfortable fortune for his wife and chil- 
dren, but also firmly' established himself in 
the esteem of his neighbors and gained their 
deepest respect. As a father, husband. 



neighbor, public official and business man, 
he proved himself an honorable, upright 
man, and one who always did his full dutj 
and ne\'er wronged anyone. 



AREND BERGMAN. 



Arend Bergman, one of the prosperous * 



farmers of Orvil township. Logan county, 
lllinciis, is the owner of one hundred and 
sixty-six acres of excellent farming land and 
has resided here for the past twelve years. , 
He is a native of North Deutchland, Ger- 
man}-, born January 21, 1865. 

His parents were Ufe and Grace (Al- 
berts) Bergman, both of whom were natives 
of Germanv and came to America with thein 
famil}- in 1881, settling in Champaign coun- 
ty, Illinois, where the father purchased a 
farm of three hundred and ten acres of land, 
and resided on it, engaged in farming, until 
his death, in 1896. His wife died in tlie; 
same year. Six children were born to them 
namely: Claus, who now resides on a farm; 
in Prairie Creek townshij) ; Arend. our sub- 
ject ; Albert, who resides on the old home- 
stead in Champaign county, Illinois; John, 
who is a farmer of Irocjuois county, Illinois ;. 
Efcrt, a farmer of Champaign county, Illi- 
nois; and Ufe, also a farmer of Chamiiaign 
county. These children received only a com- 
mon school education. 

As soon as he completed his education 
our subject began farming in Champaign- 
county, and resided there until 1888, when 
he came to Logan count}- and settled in 
Prairie Creek township, where he leased a 
farm. \Miile living there, in 1889, he was 
married to Sophia Struebing. also a native 
of Germany, and a daughter of Joe Strue- 
liing, who is now a farmer in Prairie Creek 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



459 



township. Mr. and Mrs. Bergman have 
two children : John and Grace. 

After his marriage Mv. Bergman re- 
mained in Prairie Creek township, engaged 
in farming, nntil 1898, when lie mo\-ed to 
Orvil township and settled on his present 
farm, known as the old Payne farm, on sec- 
tion 4. where he is engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock raising, antl has been success- 
ful in his endeavors. In politics he is a 
Democrat, and both he and his wife are 
members of the German Lutheran church of 
Emden. They are excellent people and en- 
jov the deepest respect and esteem of their 
neighbors and friends. 



SIXNET RANKIX. 



There is particular satisfaction in re- 
verting to the life history of the honored 
and venerable gentleman whose name mi- 
tiates this review since his mind bears im- 
press of the historical annals of this county 
from pioneer days, and from the fact that he 
is one of the leading and intluential citizens 
of Atlanta township. He was born in Fay- 
ette county, Ohio, August 27, 181 7, and is 
of Scotch-Irish descent, his paternal great- 
grandfather being originally friim the north 
of Ireland. His grandfather, ^\'ilIiam Rank- 
in, was a Virginian Ijy birth, while his 
father, William Rankin, was born in Ken- 
tucky, on the 25th of July, i 784, and spent 
the first sixteen A'ears of liis life on a farm in 
that state, after which he removed with his 
parents to Ross county, Ohio. Throughout 
life the latter followed the occupation of 
farming and stock raising. In 1850 he 
came to Logan county, Illinois, and settled 
at Post\ille, now Lincoln, where he resided 
alx)ut t,\o ^ears. He then went to live with 



our subject, where he continued to reside 
nntil his death, which occurred in October, 
1867. His wife, who bore the maiden name 
of Elizabeth Popejoy, was a native of Dela- 
ware, and died in Ohio, in 1847. The\- were 
the parents of seven children. For his sec- 
ond wife he married Jane Baldwin and after 
his death she returned to Ohio, where she 
(lied. 

Sinnet Rankin of this sketch passed his- 
boyhood and youth upon his father's farm, 
where he remained nntil September, 1848,. 
A\hen in compau}- with two brothers, Ed- 
ward and William, he came to Logan coun- 
ty. Prior to this he had received a good 
common school education, such as was ob- 
tainable in the country schools of those days, 
and he early became familiar with exery de- 
tail of farm work. On locating in this coun- 
ty he rented a farm in what is now West 
Lincoln township, and here lived until 1850, 
when he settled on section 10, Broadwell 
township, where he controlled three hundred 
and twenty acres of land. On selling that 
place in 1891, he purchased his present farm 
on section 27, Atlanta township, which con- 
sists of one hundred and sixty acres of well- 
improved and highly culti\-ated land. Al- 
though eighty-fi\-e years of age he is one of 
the most active men in the county for his age 
and still superintends the operation of his 
farm and enjoys good health. Besides his 
tine farm, he owns two valuable lots with 
residences thereon in Lincoln and four 
others in Atlanta. 

On the 5th of December. 1839, Mr. 
Rankin was united in marriage with Miss 
Eveline AI. McBee, a daughter of \\'illiam 
jNIcBee. She died January 26, 1888, leav- 
ing one daughter : Xancy E., who was born 
September 3, 1840. Elmira J., who was 
l)orn in October, 1846, died aged nine years. 
The former married Robert Blacker and died 



<46o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



April 3, 1890. She left five children. ]\Ir. 
Rankin was again married. August 24, 1893, 
his second union lieing witli Elizabeth H. 
Dalby, a native of Virginia and a daughter 
of Jesse Dalby. She was first married to a 
Mr. Ary and became the mother of a large 
familv. 

Socially Mr. Rankin is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, belonging to the Blue 
Lodge of Lincoln, and. politically is a stanch 
supporter of the Democratic party and its 
principles. For the long period ( if forty 
years he served as school treasurer, and was 
also a member of the board of supervisors 
four years. He has alwavs taken an acti\'e 
and commendable interest in public affairs, 
especially along educational lines, and is 
read)- at all times to assist in any enter- 
prise calculated to promote the welfare of liis 
count)'. His pleasant, genial manner has 
made him a host of friends, and he is well 
liked and highly respected wherever known. 



JACOB MAYER. 



Among tlie leading business men an<l 
prominent citizens of Mt. Pulaski is num- 
bered Jacol) ]\Iayer, of the well-known firm 
of J. Mayer & Brother, manufacturers of 
harness and dealer in buggies. He was 
born in that \'illage on the i6th of Alarcli, 
.1850, and is a son of John G. and Elizabeth 
(Work) flayer. The father was born in 
W'urtemberg, Germany, in 1808, and in 
1832 crossed the broad Atlantic and first 
located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On 
coming westjie Icxrated in Springfield, Illi- 
nois, where he was employed in a general 
\\a)- in the Ridgley Bank until 1848 when 
lie remo\ed to Logan county and settled 



on a farm in Mt. Pulaski township, where 
he spent two )'ears. In 1850 he took up 
his residence in Mt. Pulaski, where he was 
engaged in general merchandising with his 
brO|ther George unde>r the fi^rm name of 
Mayer Brcfdiers for ten years. He then 
followed farming in Mt. Pulaski township 
until his death, which occurred in 1865. 
He there (nvned two hundred and forty 
acres of rich and arable land, and had three 
hundred and ten acres elsewhere. His wife, 
who long sur\ived him, passed away in 
March, 1895. She was born in Strasburg, 
Lancaster county, Penns)h'ania. in 181 3. 
They had a family of se\-en children, fi\-e 
sons and two daughters, namel)- ; Sanuiel : 
Martha: George; Anna, wife of E. Stoll, 
who dietl September 27, 1901 : John W. ; 
Jacrib ; and Henry, deceased. 

Jacob Ma\er was educated in the public 
schools, which he attended until fifteen years 
of age, and during the following three vears 
he was with the family on the farm. He 
then learned the harnessmaker's trade with 
the firm of Mayer & Reitz, serving a three 
years' apprenticeship. In October, 1871, 
he purchased the business, and carried it on 
alone until 1873, when he admitted his 
Ijrother John W. to i)artnership, the firm be- 
ing since known as J. Ma\er & Brother. 
They have built up an excellent trade and 
ha\-e occupied the same building since De- 
cember, 1873. Besides his business prop- 
erty our subject owns a nice home in Mt. 
Pulaski, which was purchased by him in 
1888, and he also has a good farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres in Kansas. He is 
a wide-awake, energetic business man, and 
generallv carries forward to successful com- 
pletion whate\-er he undertakes. 

In 1872 Mr. Mayer wedded ]\Iiss Mary 
Schick, of Mt. Pulaski, a daughter of Adam 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



46 r 



and Lena Schick. Tliey have two sons : 
^^'iUiam \V.. a jeweler of this city; and 
Ehner B., who is attending the State Uni- 
versity at Champaign, Ilhnois. The family 
is 'one of pronninence in the community 
where they reside and have a host of friends 
thnmghi.ait the county. ]\tr. ]\Iayer is a 
member of the Lutheran church and has 
taken an acti\e part in local affairs, having 
ser\ed a number of terms on the city coun- 
cil and is at present a member of the board 
of education. He is rather liberal in his 
political views and is now a stanch Sound- 
Money Democrat. 



H. KXA.VK. 



I 



H. Knaak, owner of one hundred and 
sixty acres of tine farming land on sections 
15 and 16, Prairie Creek township, has been 
a resident of Logan county. Illinois, since 
1879. but was born in Germany on April 27, 
1853. He is a son of Fred and Charlotte 
(Groth) Knaak. both nati\es of Germany, 
who came to America with our subject in 
1879 and settled in Prairie Creek township. 
Here the father lived until his death, in Oc- 
tober. 1 88 1, and the mother until she died. 
February 5, 1892. 

The parents had eight children, all of 
whom are deceased except three who came 
tij America, namelv : Fred. whi> married 
Albertina Rade and resides in I'rairie Creek 
township, engaged in fanning; Olreka. wife 
of August Seefeldt. residing near Atlanta, 
this county ; and our subject. All of these 
children received good educations in Ger- 
many in their native language. 
I The family settled on A'alle\' land upmi 

I coming to this country and it has pro\-ed 
very fertile. Our subject now owns one 



liundred and sixty acres of land on section 
21, Prairie Creek township, on which he 
carries on general farming and stock raising, 
and it is as good land as an_\- to be fiiund in 
the county. 

On September 18, 1874. Mr. Knaak was 
married to Miss Augusta Sell, a native of 
Germany, born on October 8, 1853,3 daught- 
er of Fred Sell, also a native of Germany, 
who died in America. Our subject and wife 
had ele\"en children, nameh' : Fred, who 
married Katie Fitchen and li\'es near our 
suljject : Albert, who married Lizzie Heitz- 
man and li\-es in Dela\an : Otto, who lives 
near Dela\-an ; Ernest, at home: Richard, 
who died at the age of one year ; and Robert 
Richard. Annie, Henry, Bertha and William, 
all at home. 

In politics Air. Knaak is a Democrat, and 
is now pole master of the township. Both 
he and his excellent wife are members of the 
( -erman Lutheran church of Emden. Air. 
Knaak is essentially a self-made man. for he 
started out in life with nothing but his own 
willing hands and earnest purpose to make 
all he could of his life. That he has suc- 
ceeded, his fine farm and comfortable house 
( one of the finest farm houses in the county) 
ami)ly testify. He and his entire family en- 
joy the highest esteem of the entire neigh- 
borhood, and in matters relating to township 
affairs Mr. Knaak takes a leading' part. 



TAMES M. AIOOS. 



James AI. Moos, who is now so efficientlv 
serving" as chief of police in Lincoln, has 
s]:!ent his entire life in Logan countv. He 
was born on a farm in East Lincoln town- 
ship, January I. 1862, a son of Christian 
and ^Margaret ( Ray) Moos. The father was 



462 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hnvn in Denmark alimit TS36 and came to 
.the new wnrld when young, .\fter follow- 
ing the sea as a ship carpenter for three 
\'ears, he located in Xew York City, where 
he was married and resided for a number ot 
years. In 1852 he came with his family ii> 
Logan county, Illinois, and entered the em- 
ploy of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- 
])any, being their first section foreman fron; 
Lincoln to Atlanta. He was killed in the 
vicinity of Lincoln when our subject was 
only nine months old. His wife, who was 
born in 1828. in County Antrim, in the north 
of Ireland, is still living at the age of seven- 
ty-four years. They were the parents of the 
following named children: Alaria. wife of 
James Lynch, of Lincoln ; Francis, a miner 
of Lincoln : Peter, a resident of the same 
place; Jennie and Christian, deceased: and 
James ^I.. of this review. 

Our subject is indebted to the public 
schools of Lincoln for his educational advan- 
tages. His early life was sjient upon a farm, 
and later he engaged in coal mining ami 
working in a tile factor}-. For tweh-e years 
he has lieen on the police force of Lincoln, 
and in May, 1901, was appointed chief if 
police, which important position he is no\v 
filling- with credit to himself and to the en- 
tire satisfaction of the citizens of Lincoln. 

On the 2ist of April, 1885. Mr. Moos 
married Miss Nora E. Sharp of Lincoln, who 
was born in Pennsylvania, and is a daugh- 
ter of James and Mary (Moran) Sharp. 
Her father was a native of Glasgow, Scot- 
land. Mr, and ]\Irs. Moos have no chil- 
dren of their own, but have an adopted 
daughter, Elizabeth Jennie, the child of Mr. 
Moos' sister. 

In his political views Mr. Moos is a 
stanch Republican, and in his social relations 
is a meml)er of Lincoln Lodge, No. 204, I. 
O. O. F. ; and Keokuk Tribe, No. 67, I. O. 



R. M. He is also a memljer of the Federa- 
tion of r.abor, and does all in his power to 
promote the interests of the laboring classes. 
At an early age he started out toi make his 
(;wn way in the world, being deprived of a 
father's care and advice, antl he deserves 
great credit for the success he has achieved. 
Mr. and ]\Irs. Moos are communicants of 
St. I'atrick's Catholic church, and have a 
good home at 215 \\'illard a\enue, Lincoln. 



ERNEST M. MOOS. 

Ernest M. ]\Ioos. an expert machinist 
residing in Lincoln, Illinois, was born jn 
that city on the 30th of August, 1867, and 
is a son of Ji^hn P. and Sophronia (Ely) 
I\[oos, who are still living here. The 
father was born in Denmark in 1836, and 
was reared and educated in his native land. 
There he learned the machinist's trade, 
which he has made his life work. On his 
emigration to America in 1859. he located 
in Lincoln, Illinois, and has since been 
identified with its industrial interests. His 
wife is also a native of Denmark. They 
are the parents of the following named 
children : August, a machinist of Bloom- 
ington, Illinois; Fred, a harnessmaker of 
Knoxville, Illinois; Ernest M.. our subject; 
Annie, wife of John Crawford, of Beason, 
Illinois: Lina D., who is now engaged in 
teaching in the public schools of Lincoln, 
and also teaches music at home, being an 
accomplished inusician ; and Emil, late pro- 
bate judge of Logan county, who died April 
8, 1900, in his thirtieth year. 

The subject of this review- passed his 
boyhood and youth in Lincoln, attending 
both the public and high schools, as well as 
a German school of this city. At the age 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



463 



of eigliteen lie commenced learning the 
machinist's trade with his fatlier, and after 
completely mastering the hnsiness went to 
St. Louis, Missouri, where he followed his 
chosen occupation for a time. He next 
si>ent alx>ut a year in Spring-field, that state, 
and (in the expiration of that time returned 
to Lincoln. Illinois, and entered the employ 
of the Illinois Asylum for Feeble ]^Iinded 
Children, as a machinist, doing all of the 
repairing at that institution for ten years 
under the administrations of Dr. W. B. 
Fish. Dr. .Miller aixl Dr. J. W. Smith. He 
was then removed f.:)r political reasons and 
accepted a position in the Lincoln furniture 
factory. Subsequently he was engineer for 
the Electric Street Railway of Lincoln at 
their power house. Being a skilled machin- 
ist, he has at times done considerable work 
in repairing and overhauling the plumbing 
in different establishments in the city. 

I\Ir. Moos was married December 14, 
1892, to ]\Iiss Lizzie Gehres, of Lincoln, a 
native of Ohio and a daughter of John and 
Hannah Gehres, of Lincoln. To them have 
been 1x)rn two children : Helen and Ernest 
Neal. In the spring of igoi Mr. Moos 
was elected alderman from the fourth ward 
on the Democratic ticket fm" a term of two 
years, and most acceptably filled that ix)S!- 
tion. Socially he is an honored member of 
Mozart Lodge, No. 345, I. O. O. F. 



WILL P. \\'AKEI\IAN. 

The deserved reward of a well-spent life 
is an honored retirement from business, in 
which to enjoy the fruits of former toil. To- 
day, after a useful and beneficial career, Will 
P. Wakeman is cjuietly living at his pleasant 
j home, Xo. 140 Ninth street, Lincoln, sur- 



rounded by the comfort that earnest labor 
has brought him. He was born in Wayne 
county. New York, September 11, 1840, and 
is a son of John and IMargaret (Sny- 
der) AV'akeman. nati\es of Germanv. 
On coming to the United States the 
father located in Lvons, New York, 
but later removed to Newark, \\'ayne 
county. New York, where he engaged 
m business as a carriage and wagon 
manufacturer until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1850. His wife long survived 
him, passing away in 1891. 

Mr. Wakeman. of this review, completed 
his education at an academy in Macedon, 
Wayne count}-. New \'ork. .Vfter his re- 
turn from the war he took the proscriljed 
course and graduated from Duff's Commer- 
cial College, at Columbus, Ohio. Wiien the 
Civil war ):)roke out he manifested his patri- 
otism by enlisting in November, 1862, in 
Company B, One Hundred and Sixtieth 
New York Volunteer Infantry, under Col- 
onel Van Patten. The reriment was as- 
signed to the Department of the Gulf, un- 
der the comi-nand of General Butler, and was 
first ordered to New Orleans. In 1S63 they 
were transferred t<i the Shenandoah valley 
and was there when General Phil Sheridan 
made his famous ride. At the surrender of 
General Lee they were stationed at Savan- 
nah, Georgia, and from there went to An- 
dersonville, Georgia, as provost guard to 
administer the oath of allegiance to the 
Georgians. Fnjm Harper s Ferry they 
marched to Washington, where they par- 
ticipated in the grand re\iew at the close 
of the war. Mr. Wakeman was dis- 
charged, in Novaiiber, 1865, with the rank 
of second sergeant, and returned to his 
home in Newark. Wayne coun:y, New York, 
and then, after his business course, was em- 
ployed by David Hayden in his store at Co- 



464 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lumlius, Oliio, until February, 1866, when 
he came t(5 Lincoln, Illiudis, and entered the 
employ of Hyde, Crandall & Company, and 
engaged in clerking for that firm and their 
successors for thirteen years. He embarked 
in the dry-goods business on his own ac- 
count in 1879, as a partner of Louis Spitley, 
under the firm name of ^Vakeman & Spitley, 
and when Mr. Spitley was forced to retire 
on account of failing health m 1882, Mr. 
AVakeman purchased his interest and con- 
tinued to carry on the business ^•ery suc- 
cessfully until JMarch i. iqot, when he sold 
out and has since lived a retuxd life. Hi'i 
son. Harry F. Wakeman, was connected 
with him in business for a time, the firm 
name being W. P. Wakeman & Son. Thev 
did a successful business in dry goods and 
millinery, and at the time of selling out Mr. 
Wakeman was one of the older business 
men of the city. 

In July, ]868, Mr. ^\'akeman married 
Miss Chestina A. Strong, a nati\-e of Brat- 
tleboro, Vermont, and a daughter of Gidding 
H. and Sarah (Thomas) Strong, who re- 
moved to Massachusetts when INIrs. \\'ake- 
man was quite young, and in June, 1867, 
came west. Her ])arents are still ]i\ing and 
continue to reside in Lincoln. Although 
over eighty years of age they still enjov 
good health and are in possession of all 
their faculties. !^Ir. and Mrs. \\'akeman 
have two children : Harry F., who was 
graduated from the Northwestern L'niver- 
sity of Chicago, after which he read law 
witli King & Miller, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1896 and is now engaged in 
practice, and \\'ilma Strong, at home. 

Mr. Wakeman and his family are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of 
Lincoln, and he takes an active part in 
church and Sunday-school work. Frater- 
nally he is a member of the Union Veteran 



Union, and [xiliticallv is a Prohibitionist. 
His life has been manlv, his actions sincere 
and his example is well worthy of emula- 
tion. In liusiness affairs he has prospered 
through his own unaided efforts, and his 
life has ever been such as to command the 
confidence and respect of all with whom he 
has been brought in contact. 



WILLIAM J. HOUSTON. 



One of the most energetic and success- 
ful farmers of East Lincoln township is ! 
AX'illiam J. Houston, whose home is on sec- i 
tion 28. He is a native of Logan county, 
his liirth luu'ing occurred in Or\-iI town- 
ship, Decemlier 28, i8C)o. His father, \\'ill- 
iam Houston. \vas born in Scotland O'f 
humble liut \\el]-rcs])ected parents, and in 
his native land was employed in cloth 
works, making prints. In 1843, \vhen Init 
a young lad, he came to this cnuntry. and 
after spending four years in Massachusetts 
remoxed to Illinois, locating in Logan coun- 
t)-. The grandfather of our subject, James 
Houston, also came to the United States, 
and died in this country when about seven- 
ty-eight years of age. The tract of go\'ern- 
ment land which he purchased in Or\-iI 
township is now owned bv the father of 
our subject, who has three hundred and 
tuent\- acres and successfully engaged in 
farming until 1889, when he remox'ed to 
Lincoln and has since lived a retired life, 
enjoying a well-earned rest. His early ed- 
ucation was limited, as he began to assist 
in the sup])ort of the family when quite . 
young, Iiut he has always made the most 
of his advantages and by untiring industry 
and close application to business has become 
(juite well-to-do, so that he is now able to 




W^M. J. HOUSTON. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



467 



lay aside all Ijusincss cares and spend the 
remainder of his life in ease and quiet. He 
has always enjoyed good health. In poli- 
tics he is a supporter of the Republican 
party, and has held a numlier of local of- 
tices. inciudfiig" that c-f school directi,>r. 
which he filled for many years. He mar- 
ried Miss Elizabeth Powell, a native of Illi- 
nois, who died in Logan county in 1875, 
at the age of thirty-four years. Of the seven 
children Ixirn of this union two died in in- 
fancy. The others are William J., the eld- 
est and only son ; Eliza, wife of William 
Alexander, of Tazewell county: ^Nlary, whi-> 
is now the widow of Alex Steninger and 
is keeping house for her father; ^largaret, 
w'vie of Xelson Parker, of Lincoln: and 
Kittie. wife of Harry Wakeman, oi Lin- 
coln. All were educated in the district 
schools, while ^klargaret graduated in mu- 
sic at Lincriln University, and Kittie took 
a ncjrmal course. 

William J. Houston of this review grew 
to manhood upon the home farm and re- 
mained under the parental roof until 1888, 
when his father removed to Lincoln, leav- 
ing him in charge of the farm, which he 
successful! v operated until 1900. During 
that time he made enough to buy a farm of 
liis own. He purchased one hundred and 
ten acres of land in Orvil township, pay- 
ing on an average of fifty dollars an acre. 
Selling that place in 1900, he bought his 
l)resent farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres on section j6. East Lincoln township, 
which he has since improved by the erection 
of a modern and ctommodious residence. He 
carries on general farming and stock-rais- 
ing, and is meeting with good success, be- 
ing a luan ul keen fliscrimination and smmd 
judgment. 

On September 11, 1890, Air. Houston 
was united in marriage with Aliss Carrie 

25 



B. Seibert, who was born in Eminence 
township, this county, June 28, 1867, and 
was educated in the district schools. Her 
father, the late Jacob Seibert, was one of 
the early settlers of the count}-. She is the 
fourth in order of birth in a family of five 
children. Air. and Airs. Houston liave 
three children : Glenn Seibert, born July 
20, 1891 : Alerlin Leslie, August 5, 1893; 
and Corinne Elizabeth, born July 18, 1895. 
By his ballot Air. Houston supports the 
men and measures of the Republican party; 
has been active in party work, and has 
served as delegate to count}- con\-entions 
several times. While residing in Orvil 
township he filled the office of school trus- 
tee sexeral times. He was one of the rep- 
resentative citizens of his conimunitv, and 
is cjuite influential and popular. Air. and 
Airs. Houston are members of the Cumber- 
land Presbvterian church of Lincoln. 



PHILIP J. ADOLPH. 

Philip J. Adolph, the owner of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land on section 17, 
Prairie Creek township, has been a resident 
of this coinitv for thirty-three years. He 
was born in Tazewell county, Illinois. Jan- 
uar\- 22, 18O1, and is a son of Alichael and 
Agnes ( Groensfelder ) Adolph, both natives- 
of (iermanv. wlirv came to America in 184.7' 
and settled near Chelsea, Alichigan. Here 
the father worked as a blacksmith for a 
short time and then they removed to Wood- 
fiird county. Illinois, and later to Pekin, 
Tazewell county, where he worked on a 
farm and at everything honest that present- 
ed itself in order 'to su])])ort his wife and 
family. Here he remained until 1868 when 
he settled on section 6, Prairie Creek town- 
ship, Logan county, and engaged in farming 



468 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlie remainder of liis lite. Here he died 
Deeemlier 23, 1890. wiiile his wife (hed 
about r^j6. Ten chiUh-en were born to 
them, namely : Catlierine. who lives on the 
old homestead; Lena, wife of Augustus 
Schweizer. of Clinton. Illinois; Pauline, at 
home; Philip, our subject Charles, who 
died at the ag-e of two years ; Henry, at 
home: Louis, a butcher of Delavan, Illinois; 
Agnes, Eva and Lydia, all three at home. 
All recei\-ed good common school educa- 
tions in the district schools of the se\-eral 
localities in which tlie family resided. 

After attaining- his majority our subject 
engaged in farming. He was married in 
1888 to Belta Buss, a native of Germany, 
anil a daughter of Captain L. L. Buss, an 
early settler of Prairie Creek township, who 
■died in 1897. The mother died in 1883. 
Three children ha\-e been born to i>ur sub- 
ject and wife, namely ; Agnes. Alma and 
Luc\-. 

Mr. Adolph located on his present farm 
after his marriage and now owns one liun- 
dred and sixty acres of land, on which he 
carries on general farming and stock rais- 
ing, and has been very successful. In poli- 
tics he is a stanch Repulilican and has been 
honored with the office of township collector 
for some years. Socially he is a member 
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen 
of San Jose. Illinois, and Imth he and his 
wife are consistent members of the ]\Ieth- 
■odist church of San Jose, as were their par- 
ents before them. In educational matters 
^Ir. Adolph also takes a deep interest and 
has served the township as school director 
for several years. In every relation of life, 
he has pro\en himself a man of worth ami 
abilitv and one willing to discharge the 
duties of his position as a prominent citizen, 
as well as a successful business man and the 
head of a familv. 



HEXRY SHIRLEY. 

Henry Shirley, one of the prosperous 
farmers of Or\il townshij) and director for 
the Logan Countv Mutual Insurance Com- 
l)any, is descended from one of the early 
settlers in this locality. His father. \\'illiam 
R. Shirley, was born in Scott county. Ken- 
tuckw in 1819. and there engaged in farm- 
ing until 1846. when he came west and 
settled in Logan county in what was then 
West Lincoln township, and continued 
farmijig for one vear. He then moved to 
what is now Orvil townshi]) and settled on 
sec:tion 2j. where he resiiled engaged in 
farming- until 185 1. In March of that year 
he moN'ed to his son's ]>resent farm on sec- 
tion 15. where he resided until his death, 
which occurred August 5, 1862. His wid- 
ow new resides in Des Moines. Iowa, with 
a daughter.. 

The ])arents had twehx children, nine of 
\\hom are now living, namely: James, who 
married Elizabeth Stewart and resides on 
a farm near our subject; Martha, wife of 
Elisha Ashlev. residing near Sioux City, 
Iowa: John \\ ., who resides in Newton, 
Kansas: Henrv, our subject; Oliver, a farm- 
er in Ford county. Illinois: George, an at- 
ttn-ney m Chicago; Charlie, also an attorney 
in Chicago; Sarah, who resides in Iowa 
with her mother; ^Margaret, wife of Finley 
Dunlap. of Des ]\Ioines. Iowa; Emily. Sarah 
and Elias. now deceased. The children all 
received giiod common school educations 
and >ome of them attended college at Eu- 
reka. Illinois. 

.\fter tinishing his education, our sub- 
ject taught school in Or\il township for two 
terms and also one term in Eminence town- 
ship and one in \\'est Lincoln township. He 
then settled on his present farm on section 
15. Or\il township, where he now owns one 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



469 



liundred and eiglity acres of good farming 
land on which he carries on general farming 
in addition to acting as director for the 
Logan County Mutual Insurance Company. 

On April 18, 1869. Mr. Shirley married 
Martha A. Smallwood, of West Lincoln 
township, a daughter of John A. and Mary 
(Van Gundy) Smallwood. Mr. Smallwood 
was a farmer in West Lincoln township and 
now resides on a farm in Tazewell county. 
Illinois. Four children have been Ijorn to our 
suljject and his wife, namely: John mar- 
ried Louella W'oland, a daughter of Eman- 
uel W'oland. deceased, and they live in Orvil 
township, on section 21 : George married 
Lousia Xall. a daughter of Richard Xall. a 
sketch of whom will be found on another 
page of this work, and they live on section 
15. Orvil township: Bertha and IMamie are 
at home. 

In politics ]\Ir. Shirlev is a Republican 
and upholds the candidates of his party, and 
he and his wife are earnest members of the 
Bethel Christian church of Orvil township. 
In bi>th church and social circles they are 
very highly resjiected and have many friends 
in the community where they make their 
home. 



JAMES R. BRAWLEY. 

The greatness of a state depends not on 
its government but on the good qualities of 
its citizens and their devotion to the public 
welfare. Prominent in his adopted coun- 
ty stands the name of James R. Brawley, 
who was Ixjrn in Tennessee October 20. 
1824. He was one of a family of six chil- 
dren who came to brighten the home of 
Thomas and Martha (Russell) Brawley. 
The father was from Xorth Carolina, where 
he was born and reared on a farm. Joining 



the tide of emigration which came to Illinoi.s 
from the border states of the South he lo- 
cated in Logan county in 1834, where he 
engaged in agriculture until his death. 

James R. Brawley was a lad of ten years 
when brought by his parents to this county, 
and here he received his education in the 
common schools. He assisted his father 
and gained his practical knowledge of farm- 
ing. When he was thirty years of age lie 
iDegan farming for himself on land which 
he rented for four years. His first pur- 
chase was that of forty acres. By industry 
and economy the following year he added 
forty acres more, for which he paid one dol- 
lar and twenty-five cents an acre. He was 
of a kind nature and because of his generos- 
ity in assisting friends he lost all he owned. 
With energy and perseverance he began life 
anew, and as the result of his labor he is 
now the possessor of one hundred and sev- 
enty acres of fine farming land where he and 
his aged wife are spending their declining 
years. 

His wife was formerly Miss Parmelia 
Attbery. a daughter of David and Polly 
(.\dams) Attbery. of Logan county. 

Mr. Attbery was a native of Kentucky, 
his wife of Tennessee, and they came to 
Logan county in the same wagon with Mr. 
Brawley. They always lived in Eminence 
township, where they both died. 

.Although the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Brawley has been blessed with no children 
of their own. out of the kindness of their 
natures and their desire to make this world 
a happier place for others they have given 
the protection of home and parental affec- 
tion to several helpless and needy children. 

In politics Mr. Brawley is a Republican 
and has been a trustee of his district. He 
and his wife are members of long standing 
in the Christian church. This venerable 



470 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



couple, wlio have shared the joy and brave- 
ly met the disappointments of life, furnish 
an example worthy of emulation. 



WILLI A ^I CARXAHAX. 

Among the pruminent citizens of tlu' 
village of Emden, Logan county, Illinois, 
is William Carnahau, a most worthy rep- 
resentative of one of the oldest families of 
this coimty. He was burn in Darke coun- 
ty, Ohio', September jg. 1828, and is a son 
of Elias L. and Catherine (Martin) Car- 
nahan, who were married in 1827. The 
latter was born July 11, 1808, in Ohio, 
and the former Octuber 17, 1804, in Darke 
count}-, the same state. The grandfather 
was William Carnahan, who was born in 
Virginia, Xovember 14, 1770, and moved 
from there intn Kentuck}-, and later tn 
Ohio, locating in Darke coimty, where he 
spent his last years. 

Elias L. Carnahan, the father of our 
subject, was a farmer of Darke coimty, 
Ohio, until September i, 1854, at which 
time he started westward, locating on sec- 
tion 3, Orvil township, Logan county, Illi- 
nois. On this farm Mr. Carnahan made 
many improvements and resided upon this 
land until he died, October 6, 1874. The 
children born to Elias Carnahan and wife 
were nine in number, and William, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was the eldest of the fam- 
ily, the others Iieing as follows: Elizabeth, 
the wife of James Hayes, a farmer near 
Blocniington, Illint;is; Sarah Ami, de- 
ceased ; Martin, who now resides in Sedg- 
wick county, Kansas; Frances, who mar- 
ried Jobn Hall, of Greenville, Ohio; Elias, 
who is a resident of Sedgwick county, Kan- 
sas : Robert, who^ is also a farmer in Sedg- 



wick county. Kansas; Ciiarlotte, who mar- 
ried Henry C. Quisenberry, of Linc(jln, 
Illinois; John, who died young; and Mar- 
garet C, who died in 1849, 'i" '-'f them lie- 
ing given a comuKm school education. 

While a resident of Darke county, Ohio, 
our subject, William Carnahan, was united 
in marriage December 26, 1848, tO' ]\Iiss 
Mary Mark, who was born in Adams coun- 
ty, Penns}lvauia, and was a daughter of 
John Mark, wh(.> was a farmer in that lo- 
calit}'. Mrs. Carnahan died in July, 1878, 
lea\ ing nine children, these being: Elias, 
born on January 3, 1850, married Eliza- 
beth (iallagher, of Logan county, Illin(jis, 
and is now engaged in a general merchan- 
dise business at Emden under the tirm 
name of Bowles & Companx'. His three 
children were: Harrv L., deceased, S. C. 
;uid I). B. Elizabeth, the wife of John 
Atkins, resides in Oklahoma. John resides 
in Sedgwick county, Kansas; Ellen is the 
wife of Z. ^IcAllister and resides in Taze- 
well county. Illinois; Franklin died at 
the age of nineteen vears ; Clara, the wife 
of Douglas Thompson, lives in Sedgwick 
county, Kansas; Kenneth E. married Eme- 
line Bennett and they reside in Boynton 
township. Tazewell count}'. Illinois. Alva 
(i. married Catherine Xine, and they are 
farmers, living in Orvil township; and 
Lucy, who married Joshua ]\Iontgomery,. 
resides in ( )rvil township. 

In 1855 Mr. Carnahan followed his fa- 
ther to Illinois and settled on section 10, 
near his father's farm. .\t that time the 
town of Emden was not in existence and the 
nearest market was Peoria. The farm was 
without improvements and it required much 
;nid constant industrv to place the land under 
cultivation, erect suitable buildings, set out 
orchards and attend to the fencing, but for 
eight years our subject attended to these. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



471 



affairs. Moving then to another farm 
south iji this one. he remained there for 
three years, just as industrious as ever, but 
at the end of that time tried tlie cultivation 
of the old Ware farm, in Tazewell county, 
returning the next year to Logan county. 
For the five succeeding years he lived on a 
farm on section 11, mo\ing then to what 
is locally known as the Alexander farm, re- 
maining on it for two years. 

^Ir. Carnahan then moved his family 
into the village of Emden and for several 
years engaged in running a thresher and 
com sheller. later going back to farming 
for several more years. In July. 1881. huw- 
e\'er. he returned to Emden and was en- 
gaged until October. 1898. in the hotel and 
dray business. Selling out his interests at 
that time he is now living in well-earned re- 
tirement. For six years he efficiently per- 
formed the duties of constable, in connec- 
tion with his cither business. During the past 
three years he has done soine buying and 
shipping of stock, being a man whose en- 
ergy will not permit him to be entirely idle. 

The second marriage of ^Ir. Carnalian 
was in 1881. to Mrs. Mary A. (Johnson) 
Snyder, who was born in Scioto county. 
Ohio, on July 2. 1835, and was a daughter 
<jf James O. and Phebe (Jeffries) Johnson, 
the fomier of whom was born in 1808, and 
the latter June i. 18 17. Mrs. Carnahan 
\\as the widow of Andrew J. Snyder, who 
was a native of Scioto county and moved 
tf> Logan o.unty, Illinois, in 1868. settling 
in Emden. where the built the present Em- 
den Hotel, conducted this hostelry, taught 
.school and also engaged in farming. His 
death occurred on July 30. 1877. Mr. and 
Mrs. Snyder had seven children, as follows : 
J. Henry, who married Mary E. Stafford and 
resides at Mount Pulaski, where he is en- 
gaged in a general mercantile business; 



A\'illiam O., who married Jennie Peck and 
resides at Irma. Wyoming; Oscar J., who 
resides at Emden. Illinfus: J. Milton, a 
hotel man of Emden. who married Laura 
Edwards and has two chjldren. Alma and 
Arthur; E. J., who resides in Irma, Wyom- 
ing; Charles, who died young; and Phoebe, 
wlio died in 1877. 

In politics Mr. Carnahan has been an 
ardent Republican ever since the Civil war, 
and socially he is connected with no orders, 
although Mr. Snyder, his step-son, belongs 
to both Knights of Pythias and Wrxxlmen. 
Both are also members of the Christian 
church. Through life Mr. Carnahan has 
been energetic and progressive, interested in 
the progress and development of his sec- 
tion. He is one of the prominent citizens 
of the township and county and is highly 
esteemed. 



ROBERT PECH. 



Robert Pech. of Oran township, was 
born in Germany on Christmas day. 1846, 
and is one of five children who came to the 
home of Ferdinand and Dora Pech. 
Ferdinand Pech, who was a millwright, 
died when his son Robert was eight years 
old. Owing to the death of his father our 
subject was obliged to assist his mother in 
the support of her family and did not have 
the opportunity to obtain as good an edu- 
cation as he desired. Being ambitious to 
make his start in life in a less crowded 
country than his native one. in the year 
1870, when twenty- four years of age, he 
took passage for the United States of Amer- 
ica. He landed in Xew York, then jour- 
neyed to Pennsylvania, where he learned the 
trade of a mason. As he was a good me- 
cha;iic he was successful in obtaining em- 
ployment. 



472 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In 1 87 1 he came to INIcLean county. Illi- 
nois, where he worked at his trade till 
1875. \\'ien he located in Logan county. 
When Mr. Pech first settled in this county 
he started a brick yard, which he continued 
to run for thirteen years. The first three 
years pro\ed ^■ery unsuccessful, but since 
that time it has been just the reverse. When 
he first started in this industry he had eigh- 
teen hundred dollars, but lost every cent in 
six weeks on account of the heavy rains. 
A little at a time he accumulated property 
till he is now the possessor of two hundred 
and forty acres of fine farming land on sec- 
tion 4. Oran township, with a good resi- 
dence on it. He is very successful as a 
stock raiser and the great herds grazing in 
his wide pastures are a pleasing sight. 

On October 29. 1871, ilr. Pech was 
united in marriage with Miss Henrietta 
Stark, a daughter of Jacob Stark, who was 
a native of Germany, but died in Waterloo, 
Wisconsin. The marriage ceremony of Mr. 
Pech and Mfss Stark was performed at 
Bloomington. Illinois, and to them were 
lx>rn ten children, cf whom two died in in- 
fancy. Their living children are: Fred- 
erick W".. born May 29. 1874: William F., 
born June 3, 1877: Henry C, born October 
1. 1880: Adolf J., torn April 16. 1882: 
Dora. Ixirn Xovember 9. 1883: Anna E.. 
born Xovember 5. 1885: Henrietta, her 
mother's namesake, born July 29, 1889. and 
Arthur, the baby, born May 29, 1896. 

Mr. Pech. his wife and their children are 
strict members of the Lutheran St. Louis 
church. In jxilitics he affiliates with the 
Democratic i>arty. He is a man who has 
never sought publicity but by his honesty 
has won the confidence of the citizens of his 
conimunity who have honored him with the 
presidency of the school Ixxird and also 
made him a director, which place he has held 



for three years. He is one of Logan coun- 
ty's most honest and industrious farmers. 
His mother, who resides in Iowa at the ripe 
old age of eighty-three years, may well be 
proud of her boy who began his life work 
with no capital but his own strong hands 
and brave heart, and in a strange land has 
won financial success and an honored name. 
He is truly a self-made man. Always just 
in his dealings, he merits the success which 
has attended his well-directed efforts. 



AXTHOXY J. LUDLAM. 

One of Eminence township's old and 
honored citizens is Anthony J. Ludlam. 
who has been identified with the agricultural 
interests of this county for almost half a 
century. A native of Xew Jersey, he was 
born at Dennis Creek, July 6. 1827, and is 
a son of Jeremiah J. and Deborah A. ( Fort- 
iner) Ludlam. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather was Joshua Fortiner. who was 
born at Cape May. Xew Jersey, and fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer. He was 
lost at sea. Jeremiah J. Ludlam. the father 
of our subject, was also born at Cape May 
of English ancestry and made his home in 
the east until 1843. when he removed to 
Sangamon county. Illinois, where he oper- 
ated a rented farm of one hundred and fifty 
acres for five years. In the meantime he 
had sa\-ed enough mone}" to purchase one 
hundred and sixty acres, which he improved 
and successfully carried on until the death 
of his wife, which occurred December 2, 
1874. He then made his home with our 
subject for a time, but spent his last days 
with his son Rhiner in Iowa, where he died. 
He had a family of six children, five ot~ 
whom still survive him. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



473 



Tlie subject cif this sketch was reared 
in his native state ami remained under tlic 
])arental roof until fourteen years of age, 
when he went to sea and spent three years 
on the briny deep. In 1843 he accompanied 
the famih- on their removal to Sangamon 
countw Illinois, and was engaged in farm- 
ing there for ti\e \ears. He was married in 
T848 to Miss Priscilla S. Hand, a daughter 
of Xathaniel Hand, who was originally 
from .\e\\ \nvk and died in Xew Jersey. 

Immedialeh' after his marriage Mr. Lud- 
lam rcmiA'ed to' Springlield, where he found 
employment in a general store, serving in 
the capacity of clerk for ti\-e years. In 1854 
he came to Logan county, and resumed 
farming in .\tlanta township, where he re- 
sided until 1880. with the exception of three 
}ears sjicnt on a farm of three hundred acres 
in Mt. Hope townshi]), McLean count)-. 
Since then he has made his home in Emin- 
ence t(.wnship, where he owns a hue farm 
of cnie hundred acres on section 10. This 
jilace is under a high .state of culti\-ation and 
well improved, and its neat and thrifty ap- 
pearance testifies to the careful supervision 
of the owner. 

L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Ludlam were born 
eleven children, of whom five are living, 
namelv : .\nn |ulictta. born Septemlier 17. 
1850; Deborah A., born June 6, 1852: .\n- 
thony J.. Jr.. Imrn July 25, J854: Edward 
E., born May 15, i86j: and Letitia S., 
born October 2, i8()4. Those deceased were 
Xathaniel H.. wh.. died May 17. 1888; EL 
ton (i., who died .\])ril 25, 1865 ; Shann T.. 
who died October 14, 1868: Henry H., who 
flicd -September 12. 1870: .\(la P.. who died 
.'^e])tember 2J, 1874: and one who died in 
infancy. Besides their own cbiklren Mr. 
' ' and Mrs. Ludlam ha\e reared three others 
from infancy. This worthy cou])le are noted 
for their kindness of heart and generositv. 



and are universally respected and esteemed. 
They are earnest autl faithful members of 
the IMethoilist clnnx-h, to which their family 
also belong, and .Mr. Ludl.nm is also a mem- 
ber of the lnde]KMulent Order i-f Odd I'el- 
lows and the .Masonic fraternity, being a Sir 
Knight, [in cast his first presidential vote 
for ilenr\- Clay, the Whig candidate, and is 
now itlentitied with the Ue])ublican (.arty. 
He was connected with the legislatixe work 
at the state house in .Springfield in an of- 
ficial capa--ity fi:r eighteen years, and has al- 
ways conscientiously discharged any duty 
de\'ol\'ing u])on him, whether ])ublic 1 'r ])ri- 
\'ate. lie is a well educated and well read 
man, win takes an acli\e interest in puljlic 
affairs, and is regarded as one of the valued 
citizens of his c<immunity. He has passed 
the allotted age of three score years and ten 
but is still energetic, and with exception of 
occasional touches of rheumatism still en- 
joys good health. 



lOHX T. GREEN. 



John T. Green, a skillful and up-to-date 
farmer li\ing on sccti<in 15, b'ast Lincoln 
tc wnship. was born in Scott countx'. Illinois, 
on the lOth of December, 1848, his ])arents 
being Thomas and Mary (Morrison) ( ireen. 
The father was a nati\-e of England, but was 
only a year old when brought b\' his parents 
to .\merica, the familv locating in Scott 
county. Illinois, where he grew to manhood. 
P>\' occni)ation he was a farmer and led a 
i|uiet and useful life. He was an active 
wcrk-er and faithful member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, .\fter residing in 
.Scott countv for manv vears he came to Lo- 
gan countN' and spent bis last dax's in b'.ast 
Linciiln township, where he passed away in 



474 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



August. 1897, at the age of about seventy 
years. His wife is still living, at the age of 
seventy-six. and makes her home with a 
grandson. She is a native of Ohio, and the 
mother of four children, namely: John T., 
of this review ; James X., who is a machin- 
ist employed in the car shops at Jacksonville, 
Illinois; Alary E., widow of A. Kilpatrick; 
and Daniel. The two younger live with 
their mother on the home farm. 

The subject of this sketch attended the 
district schools of his native county to a 
limited extent until sixteen years of age, and 
remained at home, giving his father the bene- 
fit of his labors until twentv-four. The fol- 
lowing two years he engaged in farming on 
his own account. On coming to East Lin- 
coln township in 1876. he located on the 
southeast quarter of section ifi, which land 
belongs to L^'ncle Dan Curry, and here he has 
since successfully engaged in general farm- 
ing. He has alwavs kept up the impro\-e- 
ments du the place, and its neat and thrift\' 
iippearance testifies to his careful su])er- 
vision. 

Mr. Green was married in Scott county. 
]\Iarch 15. 1871, to Miss Carrie ]\Ieathering- 
ham. who was Ijorn in England, August 24, 
1845, and came tcv this countr\- when a child 
of two }-ears. She was reared and educated 
in Xew York, where she lived until the 
removal of the family to this state. Unto 
]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Green were born seven chil- 
dren, but two died in infanc}-. Those li\'- 
ing are Thomas C, a farmer of East Lin- 
coln township : Clara, Ethel, Pearl and Jay. 
all at iKJine. 'idiey were educated in the dis- 
trict schools of East Lincoln township. 

Mr. Green gives his political support to 
the Republican part};, and for eleven years 
he has elficientlv ser\'ed as school director in 
bis district, ha\-ing ever taken an active in- 
terest in educational affairs. Both he and 



his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, in which }ilr. Green has served 
as steward and is at present the chorister, 
and are people of prominence in the com- 
munitv where the^' reside. 



FRANK U; COTTLE. 

l""rank W. Cottle, cashier of the Bank of 
Idkhart. was born in Somersetshire, Eng- 
land, 3ilarch 15, 1847. ^\'hen but four 
years of age he emljarked with his parents, 
Francis I-", and Aime ( Bourchier J Cottle, 
on the sailing \essel Clara Wheeler, and 
after a journey of sixty-one days landed 
in Boston harbor. His parents were na- 
tives of England, and the father was an 
officer in the British navy, but in .\merica 
devoted his energies entirely to mercantile 
].ursnits. L'ntil iSf)^ he continued to li\'e 
in Pxiston and \'icinit\-. in the meantime 
luu'ing made frequent trips to Illinois, 
where he purchased considerable farm land. 
After locating in Chicago at the end of the 
Civil war, he engaged in business on a 
large scale, and at the time of his death, 
in December. 1884, was a man of wealth 
and prominence in the financial world. He 
was a Ouaker in religious belief, and a Re- 
|nil)lican in national politics. The senior 
Air. Cottle, as well as his wife, who died 
ill 1896, are buried at Alount Greenwood 
cemeter\-. Chicago. The\' were the parents 
of twii children. Frank \\". and Jordan B., 
\vho were born in England, and came to 
America in 1851. Jordan B. married Louise 
Burnett, of Los Angeles. California, and 
is now the general manager of the National ' 
Aletal Coiupany, of the old Cit\- of Mex- 
ico. 




F. W. COTTLE. 



1 

i 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



477 



The education of Frank ^^'. Cottle was 
acquired at a primary school in Boston, at 
the corneir of Revere and ;\\'e3t Cedar 
streets, conducted by Miss Cortl>ell ; at 
Phillips Grammar ScIkjoI ; and at the Park 
Latin School, conducted by Mr. Chandler, 
At the outbreak of the Civil war, while still 
a boy, he left school, and in 1872 went to 
Lake Superior, becoming bookkeeper in 
the First National Bank at Marquette, 
Michigan. In 1877 he came to Lincoln. 
Illinois, as teller in the First National Bank 
of that place, remaining there until he came 
to Elkhart in 1890. His name will ever be 
associated with the organization of the 
.sound commercial institution of which he 
lias since lieen the cashier, as well as stock- 
holder and director. 

At Marquette, ^lichigan. November 5, 
1873. Mr. Cottle married 'Slary Eleanor 
daughter of Stephen R. and Sarah E. ( Ban- 
croft) Gay, natives of Derby. Connecticut. 
Mrs. Cottle was born in Berkshire county. 
Massachusetts. March 20, 1852, and conies 
of old Revolutionary stock, and is herself 
a member of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. In 1857 she went to Mar- 
quette. Michigan, with her parents, where 
her father became a large iron manufac- 
turer. He erected the first blast furnace 
on Lake Superior, and was the first to dem- 
onstrate that pig iron could be manufac- 
tured from the ore of Lake Superior in a 
blast furnace. In 1864 he visited New 
York and on the return journey was 
stiricken with pneumonia at Detroit, 
^'ichigan, from which he never recovered. 
He is bvried at West Stockbridge, Massa- 
chusetts, and his wife is living with her 
ffldest daughter. Mrs. Van Cleve, at St. 
Louis, Missouri. Of the children in the 
family three only are now living, and be- 



sides Mrs. Charles Van Cleve, who has 
three children, there is Harry B., who is a 
bachelor, and Edwarfl, who married Anna 
Kellogg, now deceased, of Ypsilanti, Mich- 
igan, and who now resides in St. Louis, 
Missouri. Of the children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Cottle, Jordan B. is assistant cashier of 
the Bank of Elkhart, antl is an extremely 
popular and capable young man. He was 
born December 14, 1874, in Marquette, 
Michigan, and has developed numerous tal- 
ents, not the least of which has resulted 
in his reputation as one of the finest horse- 
men in the state, if not in the United States. 
He is known especially as a crack Rough 
Rider, and no broncho browses upon the 
plains with a will too stubborn to be con- 
trolled by this unequalled student of equine 
nature. /\ great favorite with Bufifalo Bill, 
and the Wild West people in general, he 
often assists them in giving exhibitions of 
prowess, to the delight and wonderment of 
spectators. To assist in carrying out his 
diversions he possesses the finest possible 
collection of bridles and saddles and general 
equipment. Of the other children, Philip 
Gay was born in Lincoln. Illinois, March 
21. 1882. and read law with Senator John- 
son, of Chicago, and is now practicing at 
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma; John G. w5s 
born June i. 1884, i" Lincoln, Illinois, and 
is attending high school in his native town : 
Francis W., Ixjrn October 9, 1887, died 
July 2^, 1888: Robert S.. was born in Lin- 
coln, June 10. 1889. and is attending school 
at Elkhart : and Oliver B. was Ixjrn January 
15. 1895. 3t Elkhart. Mr. Cottle is presi- 
dent of the village of Elkhart, and is now 
serving his second term as justice of the 
]}eace of Hurlbut township. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Cottle are Epicopa- 
lians,both being descended from archbishops 



4/8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of Canterbury, tlie former from Arch- 
bisliop Bourchier and ^Irs. (rottle from 
Archbishop Bancroft. 



DAVID H. HARTS. 



David H. Harts, a well-kncwn attorney 
of Lincoln, is a native of Pennsylvania, born 
in the Xeppanoose valley amid the Alle- 
ghany mountains of Lycoming county. No- 
vember 9. 1839. The family is of Swiss 
lineage and was founded in America in col- 
onial davs. Philip Hartz, the great-grand- 
father of ( ur suliject. was burn in German- 
town, Pennsylvania, in 1745. and retained 
the original spelling of the family name 
which, however, has since been changed to 
its ])resent form. David Harts, the grand- 
father, was born in Berks county. Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1778, at which time the Revolu- 
tionary war was in progress. He married 
Miss Elizabeth Bixler. and followed farm- 
ing as a life work. His son, John Harts, 
was born at the family home in Berks coun- 
ty, in 1809, and also became an agricul- 
turist, his home being in Lycoming county, 
Pennsyhania. He wedded Mary M. Epler, 
whii was born in Pennsyhania in 18 14, and 
died in 1840. She was a daughter of Peter 
Epler, a native of York county, that state, 
who married Eve Christ. The Epler fam- 
ily is of English descent and representatives 
of the name are now resident of Jackson- 
^•iIle, Illinois. Mrs. John Harts was sur- 
vi\ed by two sons, David H. and P. \\'.. 
the latter a resident of Springfield. Illinois. 
In i84(> the father married again and in 
1856 removed with his family to Illinois, 
where he purchased a tract of prairie land in 
Logan county. 

Our subject spent the first sixteen years 
of his life amid the nunintains nf his native 



county and there aided in the cultivation of 
a small farm. Lessons of industry, perse- 
verance and determination were early learn- 
ed and have largely shaped his destiny, 
proving imixirtant factors in his success. 
His educational privileges were limited, but 
through a four-months winter term he pur- 
sued his studies in a school house which 
stood in the midst of the forest and which 
was supplied with westle or stool benches, 
without support for the back and too high 
by eight or ten inches for the children's 
feet to reach the floor. Instruction was 
principally given in the "Three R's — readin", 
ritin" and rithmetic" — and grammar and 
geography were not taught, so that the edu- 
cation which yir. Harts obtained there was 
very meager. He was \ery fond oi trout 
fishing" and hunting ami nig the mountains, 
and gained many lessons from nature, at 
the same time developing through his out- 
door life a strong constitution. 

.\fter coming to Illinois he labored on 
the farm and engaged in teaching school un- 
til i86j. He was not content with his own 
knowledge, however, and while ni)on the 
farm he laid a solid fomidation for his own 
education by ])ursuing the study of Englisli 
grammar, geography, plain surveying and 
algebra, and was so far advanced in the 
German language that at the age of twenty 
years he was able to read, write and 
speak it well. He mastered the other studies 
mentii.ned and during the same period 
wrote muiierous articles of a local char- 
acter for the local press. His father was in 
limited financial circumstances and was thus 
unable to gi\-e his son opp(jrtunities for ad- 
vanced education. There was a mortgage 
upon the farm and between 1856 and 1861 
— the hardest times e\er experienced in Illi- 
nois, a debt of twent\-five hundred dollars 
was paid off by the jjroceeds from the farm 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



479 



and the Ial)or of our subject and his brother, 
wlio worked out by the month. 

W'lien the country became in\ol\ed in 
civil war ]\Ir. Harts could not content him- 
self to remain in tlie fields, for his jiatriotic 
spirit was aroused and he enlisted as a pri- 
vate in Company C. One Hundred and 
Sixtli Illinois Infantrv. under Colonel R. B. 
Latham. On the 22d of July. ]852, at 
Carroll Station, Tennessee, the company 
was surrendered by the captain without 
fighting in defense and against the earnest 
protest of ]\Ir. Harts and many of the men, 
for which lie was soon afterward promoted 
to the rank of second lieutenant, and when a 
little later a \'acancv occurred he was made 
first lieut-enant. In the fall of 1894 the 
captain was called before a ciiurt martial 
on the charge of cowardice, and rather than 
meet the charge he resigned, and in Decem- 
ber folic iwing Mr. Harts was made captain 
of the company, in which capacity he ser\ed 
until July 12, 1865. when he was mustered 
out of service, but the cnmimnv was not dis- 
banded until Aug. 5, 1865. He was a pris- 
oner under parole from December. 1862. 
until September, 1863, being confined to the 
Benton Barracks at St. Louis most of the 
Lime. Then he found employment by being 
J detached as a clerk in the post adjutant's 
f office, and on rejoining liis crmimand at 
Little Rock, Arkansas, he was placed in 
C(jmmand of tlie first boat that ascended the 
.\rkansas river to Fort Smith after the cap- 
ture (if Little Rock, and made the trip with 
two pieces of artillery and fifty men — a dis- 
tance of six hundred miles — over shoals and 
sandljars. ctivering a period of thirtv davs 
or more, relie\'ing the garrison at Fort 
Smith with provisions and clotlTing. with 
the loss of but a single man. He remained 
with the cimmand in Arkansas and was 
for eighteen months constantlv on dut\-, on 



military commissions and court martials, in 
addition to the ordinary duties of a line of- 
ficer. 

After his return from the war Captain 
Harts entered upon the study of law in the 
Chicago Law School, in 1865, and was 
graduated the following year. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in April, 1866. although 
he A\as not graduated until July of that \'ear. 
In August he established his office in Lin- 
coln and awaited clients. It was not long- 
before he had demonstrated his abilitv to 
successfully cope with the intricate prob- 
lems of jurisprudence, but in the meantime 
he again entered military life, for in August, 
1867, he was appointed bv President John- 
son a first lieutenant in the regular armv, al- 
though the appointment did not reach him 
until October. He accepted, but owing to 
his father's death, which iicciu'red so<jn 
afterward, he was compelled to relinquish 
the position. He then returned to practice 
in Lincoln, and was not long in gaining a 
lucrative business. His success affords the 
best e\'idence of his capabilities. 

Mr. Harts has also become largelv in- 
terested in the de\el<.ipment of the coal mines 
of Lincoln, and has been instrumental in 
promoting any enterprises which ha\e 
proven of value to the city as well as to 
the stc.ckh(.ilders. He is now the owner of 
much realty, and while carrving on his own 
business interests and placing his invest- 
ments he has aided hiaterially in the im- 
pro\ement of the citv. 

In 1878 Mr. Harts was united in mar- 
riage with ]Miss Emma Brewstei . of Lin- 
coln, a native of New York and a daughter 
of Ethan Brewster, a direct descendant of 
Elder Brewster of Mayflower fame. They 
have two sons. David H., the elder, is a 
graduate of the State University at Cham- 
paign and is now piu'suing his education 



48o 



THE FiTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Heidelburg. Germany, while John IM. is 
a graduate of the high scliool of Lincohi. 
The family have a beautiful home, which 
is celebrated for its gracious hospitality. 

'My. Harts' earlv political training made 
him an Abolitionist and Republican. He 
received his anti-slavery sentiments from 
Erastus Wright, formerly of S]>ringfield, 
of whom he was a great admirer and friend. 
He has never felt himself 1>ound by party 
ties, luit has supported such measures as he 
believed for the general good and voted for 
the men whom he has regarded as best qual- 
ified for office. In 1878 he was elected ti: 
represent the thirty-first district in the gen- 
eral assembly, and in 1881 he \Aas chosen 
chief executive of the city of Lincoln. In 
1888 he made the race for governor on the 
Prohibition ticket, and has long Ijeen wideh' 
known as an ardent advocate of the tem- 
perance cause. He has never used intox- 
icants and su])pi. rts all objects which tend 
to the uplifting of his fellow men. In early 
hfe he became a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and his life has been 
molded b}- his Christian faith. He is some- 
what retiring, but always courteous and 
kindly in manner. He holds friendship in- 
violable and every trust sacred. Faultless 
in honor, fearless in reputatinn and stainless 
in conduct, the life history of Da\id H, 
Harts is one \\hich reflects credit upon his 
profession and the cit}- uf his residence. 



SILAS H. DR.\KE. 



The Drake family of Logan county, 
Illinois, traces an English ancestry to the 
noted Sir Frances Drake, and later its mem- 
bers became distinguished in connection 
with the Revolutionar)- war, and prominent 



in the early struggles and settlement of the 
.\merican colonies. 

Silas H. Drake, of this l>iiigraph_\-, who 
is a jjrominent and substantial citizen of 
Logan county, is a worthy representatixe 
of this lionorable family. 'I'he birth of Mr. 
Drake occurred in Miamisburg, ^lontgom- 
cry county, Ohio, July 9, 1S43, ^"<1 li^ is 
a son of Charles S. and Lucy E. { Cla_\'ton) 
Drake, the former of whom was born .\u- 
gust II, 1802. in Montrose, Xew Jersev. 
and the latter at Glory Hole, Clayton's 
Mills, near Monmouth, Xew Jersey, Jan- 
uary 9. 181 1, their marriage taking place 
in August, 1826, in Monmouth. 

For two years Mr. and ]\Irs. Drake re- 
sided in Monmouth, emigrating then to Mi- 
amisburg, Ohio, \\here for seven years Mr. 
Drake carried on a shoemaking business, 
going from there to Delaware county, the 
location of the W'esleyan University, and 
lived there until 1852. At that tlate he re- 
moved his family to- Kno'.x countw locating 
p.ine miles south of Mt. Vernon, that state, 
and c(.ming to Illinois in 1855. The eight 
lumdred acres of lantl which ]\lr. Drake 
then purchased was raw prairie, and much 
labor was required to place this land under 
cultivation. In d(;ing this it was necessary 
tO' use four yoke of oxen, the machinery 
needed, also, being of a very primiti\e kind, 
according to the ideas of the present farmer. 
Neighbi-rs were far apart, railroads few, 
and the nearest market was at Springfield. 
Here. Ik wever, he passed long and useful 
}ears, buying much land, at one time own- 
ing one thousand acres: filling all of 
the prominent and responsible offices in the 
gift of his fellow-citizens, and dying June 
24, 189T, esteemed and regretted b)- the 
whole community. His whole life had been 
one filled with de\otion to his family, 
church and country, his religions connec- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



48 f 



tion having long been witli the Metlwdist 
clnirch. at \\'i!liams\ilk'. In the Masonic 
order he was higiily valued, also in the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and was 
an ardent suppi.rter (.)f the Repuljlican 
part)-. 

Jhe honored and jjeloved nidtjier of om" 
subject passed awa\- January 19, iH<j(>. anil 
both parents were reverently interred at 
Fancy Creek cemetery. They were parents 
'if ten children as follows: John, wlio 
went t(j California and tlied there in 1849: 
Theodore who died at the age of one and 
one-half years; Charles, who died in in- 
fanc\- : Moses C, who married Miss Jennie 
\'an Osdell, of Crawfordsville. Indiana, 
and both are now deceased; Henry, who 
married Columbia -\. Mc Kinney, of Spring- 
field, where the\' reside: Charles (2), who 
is .'I graduate (d' \-d\e College and Drew 
'Jdieolcigical Seminary and is a mercliant in 
Xew Haven. Connecticut; Silas H., of this 
>k'etch : Octavius. wlm married Alice Wea- 
ver and later went to California, where he 
died; Zacher}- T., \\ho married Maggie 
Lockridge and resides on the okl home- 
stead: and Lizzie, who is the wife of Charles 
Clampet and resides in Jacksoinille, Illi- 
nois. 

The earl\- education of the subject of this 
sketch was obtained in the Linn Cirove dis- 
trict sclKiol. but his studies were interrupted 
Ijy the outbreak of the Civil war. Although 
liut se\enteen years of age. he left Ids books 
ti> I)ecome a defender of his country, enlist- 
ing in lier service .Vugust 29, 1861, in Com- 
pany B, Fifth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, 
and lie was accnnipanied liy his brother Oc- 
tavius. who was 1)Ut fifteen years old. The 
loval spirit of both paternal and maternal 
ancestr\- burned in their veins. Grandfather 
Claxton having l^een a soldier in the Patriot 
army and suffering imprisonment at the bat- 



tle of Princeton; Thomas Kane, another an- 
cestor, also ser\-ing in the same army ; still 
another valiantly serving under Commodore 
i'erry, wliiJe liis father was a member of the 
militia called out once a year after the Re\-o- 
lutionary war. Mr. Drake, of this sketch, 
served faithfull\- through three years and 
tliree months, and took part in the battles of 
Champion Hills, Jacksim, Alississippi, and 
the siege of Vicksburg, Ijeing honorably dis- 
ch.irged November 14, 1864. 

During the two years following his re- 
turn from the army Mr. Drake was a student 
at tile W'esleyan University at Blocjmington, 
and then went as far west as Nebraska, 
wiiere he t(X)k up a homestead claim and 
li\ed upon it for three years, but later re- 
turned to Illinois and exchanged his farm 
tliere for o-ne he now occupies, and resided 
with his father f(jr ten years. 

On December 11, 1879. at the old home- 
stea ' m this county, he was united in mar- 
riage to }iliss Saridi Wright, who was born 
in ^^'atseka. Illinois, .Vugust 11. i860. She 
was a daughter of Samuel T. and Laura 
(Washburn) Wright, the former of whom 
was a native of New York, and the latter of 
Prairie City, Illinois. Father Wright was 
killed at tne battle of the Wilderness, after 
winch time the motlier came west and lo- 
cated at Prairie City and there married 
James Chandler, both being now deceased. 
The three children of the first marriage were 
as follows : Clara, who married Joseph 
Lintlley, later Joseph Pratt, the editor of a 
newspaper in A\'ebster City, Iowa ; Meta, the 
wife of David Bacon, who is a large mine 
owner and resides in Webb City, Iowa ; and 
Sarah, the wife of our subject. 

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Drake lo- 
cated on tiie farm which they have since 
OTimit'd rind wi'i'b is one of the very best 
in Logan county. It consists of two hun- 



482 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



drrJ. :\n(\ f(irt_\ acres of tl:e liest land in Hurl- 
but tinvnship, and his elegant, modern 
residence, just completed, is an ideal country 
honje. ]\Ir. Drake is a fine farmer and 
stcxk raiser, and has served in many repre- 
sentative offices in his township. For 
fifteen }'ears he was the most efficient com- 
missioner of highways and one of the town- 
ship trustees. He is a member of the 
Masonic, Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen 
and Farmers' Alliance orders, and in politics 
is one of the stanch Democrats of this sec- 
tion. 

The children born to Air. and IMrs. Drake 
are as follows: Clara, born April 20, 1881 ; 
Lucy, born June 14, 1883; John C, born 
July 30, 1886; and Cora, born September 27, 
1889. 



FRANK ATLASS. 



Success is determined by one"s ability to 
recognize opportunity and to pursue this 
with a resolute and unflagging energy. It 
results from continued labor, and the man 
who thus accomplishes his purpose usually 
becomes an important factor in the business 
■circles of the community with which he is 
connected. Through such means Mr. At- 
lass has attained a leading place among the 
representative business men of Lincoln. 

He was born in the village of Gri\-ia, 
Germany, August 5. 1868, and in 1871 ac- 
companied his parents, Moses and Rebecca 
Atlass, (in their emigration to America. 
The famil}' landed in New York, and pro- 
ceeded at once to^ Indianapolis, Indiana, 
where they resided for fifteen years, and 
then removed to Lafayette, that state, where 
the ])arents made a permanent home and still 
reside. 

Frank Atlass attended the public schools 



of Indianaj:K>lis, completing his education in 
the high school of that city. He then began 
his business career at Lafayette, Indiana, as 
a member of the firm of Max Atlass & 
Brother, dealers in po'ultry. At the end of 
four years he soJd his interest in the com- 
pany and removed to Decatur, Illinois, 
where he carried an the same business, 
buying out the firm of Bills & Mason. After 
twoi years spent at that place lie disposed of 
his interests there, and in 1890 came to Lin- 
coln and opened an establishment in a build- 
ing owned by Frank Frorer, as a wholesale 
dealer, packer and shipper of poultry, eggs, 
butter, hides, wool and junk. When that 
building was burned he bought property in 
Lincoln, and subsequently purchased his 
])resent store house, which he has enlarged 
and remodeled, making it one of the test 
Ijuildings adapted tO' his business tO' be found 
in this section of the state. It is a large, 
substantial Iirick structure. Mr. Atlass" 
liusiness in Lincoln has g"r,c)wn so' rapidly that 
he now furnishes employment to> fifty people, 
and ships annually from this place two or 
three hundred carloads, his principal markets 
being New York City and Boston, Massa- 
chusetts. He has established branch 
houses at Carlin\ille, Delavan, ]Mt. Pulaski, 
Bone Gap and Xew Holland, Illinois, and 
has a manager at each place. His business 
at Lincoln now amounts to over a cpiarter 
of a million dollars annual]}-. He is one of 
the directors of the Lincoln National Bank, 
and has already accumulated considerable 
property. At present he is erecting an ele- 
gant residence on North Logan street, \\ hicli 
will l)e modern in all its appointments and 
will cost at least fifteen thousand dollars. 

Mr. Atlass married Miss Sarah Barnard, 
of Indianapolis, Indiana, and they now have 
two children: Irma and Harry Leslie. 
Politically Mr. Atlass is a stanch supporter 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



483 



of the Repul)lican party and its principles : 
and Sdciaily is a member of Lincoln Lodge. 
No. 204, I. O. O. F. As a business man 
he is best known, howexer, and in all his 
undertakings he has [irdsperei.! thus far. his 
excellent success being but the logical result 
of his careful and painstaking Ijusiness 
methods. He is still comparatively a yoiuig 
man, but has already won an enviable posi- 
tion in commercial circles. 



GEORGE H. SMITH. 

Among the prosperous farmers of Broad- 
Avell township, Logan count}-, Illinois, is 
George H. Smith, who resides on a fine farm 
on section 27. He is the son of George J. 
Smith and Elizabeth (Luckhart) Smith. 
The father was the son of Balthaser Smith, 
who never came tO' America but resided in 
Germany all his life. George J. Smith was 
born in Hesse, Germany, in 1842. and after 
coming to America in 1S64 he married 
Elizabeth Luckhart, who was also born in 
Germany in 1838. They settled in New 
York City, where they lived for eight years. 
They had eight children, namely : Lewis H., 
who resides at home in Broadwell tnwnship: 
Elizabeth, wife of Lincoln Eisiminger, also 
of Broadwell : George, our subject ; Martha, 
who died in childhood : Katie, wife O'f Frank 
Davison, of Clintou, Illimjis; Mary H. ; An- 
nie, wife of James R. Wroughton, of Broad- 
well township; and Frank R., at home. 

George J. Smith is a shoemaker by 
trade and has carried on this calling ever 
since coming to America, and he is one of 
the few who' have made a success of this line 
of business. Many years ago he settled in 
the village of Broadwell, where he has be- 
come quite prominent and has long been a 



member of the school board. He is also con- 
nected with the Independent Order of Odd 
FelloAVs. He is a consistent member of the 
Christian church, in which be is serving as 
a deacon and trustee, and is \-ery highlv re- 
spected by all who know him. He is well 
eilucated in the German language and has 
learned to speak and write English since 
coming to America through his own unaided 
etYorts. 

George H. Smith, our subject, was born 
March 26, 1870, and during the winter 
months attended the district school, receiv- 
ing a good common education. In the 
spring and summer he worked I))' the month 
upon the farms in the surrounding district 
until he became of age. During all this 
time he was very frugal and saved his money 
and was thus enalMed to engage in farming 
for himself, now operating a farm of three 
hundred and eighty-six acres of land, which 
he devotes to general farming and stock- 
raising. He has operated this farm since 
1898 and has made a number of inipro\'e- 
ments upon it. The farm is in a well culti- 
\'ated state and shows the results oi' good 
management. Mr. Smith is a member of 
the Christian church c;f Broadwell, and is a 
liberal supporter of the same. Being a 
young man of energ_\-, a hard worker and 
understanding farming thoroughly, he is 
very successful, and has also w^on the respect 
and esteem of all who know him by his many 
excellent equalities. 



GEORGE W. VONDERLIETH. 

One of the rejiresentative and prominent 
business men of Mt. Pulaski was George W. 
Vonderlieth, a well-known and successful 
dealer in windmills, pumps and governors to 



484 



Till- lUOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlie same. .\ native of Log"m county, lie 
was l)oni in .Mt. Pulaski township on the 
4tli of July. iS^g. and a son of Henry auit 
Catherine Xonilerlieth, who are lueutioned 
more fully in a sketch of his brother on an- 
other pas^e (if this volume. 

Mr. X'onderiitlh was reared and edu- 
cated in this comity, ami was married in 
1881 to Miss Catherine W. Miller, of Mt. 
Pulaski, a tlauj^liter of Christian and Caro- 
line i^W'itti^i;) Miller. Two children blessed 
this union, namely : Alma C a i^raduate of 
the Mt. I'ulaski high school: and Leonore, 
now se\eii years of age. 

For several years Mr. Wuulerlieth was 
in partnership w ith Charles F. Schafer in the 
hardware ami implement business at Alt. 
Pulaski, and to-^etlier they built up a largi' 
and profitable tratle. As manufacturers of 
and dealers in windmills they have a good 
business, ami w ben the partnership was dis- 
solvtd by .mutual consent 2\lr. \"onderlieth 
ttxik that branch of their business, to which 
he since added many specialties, until he 
carried a large and varied stock. He was 
one of the most extensive dealers in his line 
in this part oi the cauntry. and enjoyed a 
large trade, extending o\er several states. 
His windmills liecanie noted for their 
efficiency and durability, and therefore found 
a ready sale. For some years Mr. \'on(.ler- 
beth manufactured the "Yankee" windmill, 
which proved a success, and was also dealer 
in other kinds. Besides his business prop- 
erty Mr. Wmderleith owned a fine fann situ- 
ated within the corporate limits of Mt. 
Pulaski, and a handsome residence, sur- 
roundetl by a large lawn ornamented by na- 
tive forest trees. Socially he was a member 
of the Knights of Pythias and the \\'oodnien 
of the World, and was a charter member oi 
the Mt. Pulaski fire department, in which he 
alwavs took an active interest. While inde- 



licudenl in pulitics. he had been township 
treasurer man\ years but refused other 
ollioes. I le was widely and fax'orably kinnvn 
as an ui)riglit and honorable man, and. with 
his wife, was ;i member of the Secoiul Lu- 
llaran church. Air. X'onderlieth died Oc- 
tober 7, 1()01. 



Al.l'UI 1) C. SClv(XililX. 

Alfred C. Scroggin is ;i prosperous 
farmer and the efiicient supervisor of Mount 
I'ulaski townshii). His residence in the 
count}' covers llfty-nine years — the entire 
jieriod of his life, for he was born upon a 
farm in Mount Pulaski township. May 14, 
1842, and througlK)Ut the years of his busi- 
ness activity be has been connected u ith ag- 
ricultural interests here, liis father, Leon- 
ard K. Scroggin, is a prominent and wealthy 
banker of Alount Pulaski. His mother, 
who bore the maiden name of Lavinia 
Puckles and was the daughter oi Robert 
r>uckles, was born and reared in Logan 
county and is a representative of one oi its 
honored pioneer families. 

Aniiil the quiet scenes of rural life Al- 
frcil I". Scroggin sjient liis boyhood and 
youth, assisting in the work of the fields 
from the time of early spring planting un- 
til the harvests were garnered in the late au- 
tumn. He then entered the district school 
and after mastering the prelintinary 
branches of Fngiish learning, continued his 
stuilies in a select school at Mechanicsburg. 
Upon the home farm he remained until 
twenty-one years of age and then started oitt 
upon an independent business career, but 
made no change in his occupation. 

As a companion and helpmate for the 




A. C. SCROGGIN. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



487 



journey of life ^Nlr. Scroggin chose !Miss 
Alary Frances Phillippe, a natixe of Cham- 
paign cijunt\-, ininois, and a (laughter of 
John and Jane (Busey) rhillii)i)e. The 
wedding was celebrated in 1865, and the 
young people began their domestic life upon 
a farm, but snon remo\ed td the \'illage 
of Mount Pulaski, where },[i'. Scroggin en- 
gaged in the grain and stock business for 
several years. He then went to Champaign 
count}' and dexoted his time to farming 
and handling stock, but after a few years 
he returned to Mount Pulaski township, 
where he purchased two hundred and forty 
acres i.if choice land on sections 3 and 4, 
his residence being on section 4. Here he 
was actively engaged in the tilling of the 
soil for t\\el\"e \'ears, when, wishing U> pro- 
Aide his children with better educational 
pri\-ileges than the district schools afiford- 
cd, he again ■ went to Augusta. Kansas, 
where he remained two years, and then 
returned to the x'illage oi Mount 
Pulaski, where he made his home for eleven 
}ears. On the expiration of that period 
he again todk up his residence ui)im his 
farm and has since conducted it with grati- 
fying" success. In 1876 he erected here a 
fine residence and has since Iniilt ginul 
barns, sheds and all the necessary outbuild- 
ings for the shelter of grain and stock. 
He raises hogs and cattle of high grades, 
breeding from thoroughbred males. He 
also buvs and feeds a large number of cat- 
tle and hogs, shipping from two to three car 
loads annually. The farm upon which he 
resides is one of the old ones of the countv. 
having been improved by William Cope- 
land about 1832, — ten years before the birth 
of orr suljject. ]\Ir. Scroggin has made it 
one of the valuable farming properties in 
the county, impro\ed with all modern ac- 
cessories and conveniences and character- 

28 



ized b}- neatness and order in everv particu- 
lar. 

Ilie hcune of Mr. and Airs. Scroggin 
lias been blessed with three children : Net- 
tie A., now the wife of W. E. Birks, a resi- 
dent farmer of Logan county: Oriu O., a 
farmer of Alinnesota; and Alary F., at 
home. In his political views our subject is 
a stanch Democrat, unfaltering in support 
of the principles of the party. In 1892 
he was elected supervisor of Alount Pulaski 
township for a term of two years, and since 
that time has been three times re-elected, 
so tliat he lias served for eight consecutive 
years, discharging the duties of the office 
in a manner above suspicion or reproach. 
He is a genial, cordial gentleman, with a 
liost of warm friends and as one of tlie rep- 
resentative farmers of the community he 
well deserves mention in this volume. 



PETER AIAUS. 



Peter Mans, who is now successfullv en- 
gaged in the gTa:in and coal business in 
Latham. Illinois, was born in Nassau, Ger- 
many, (in the 20th of October, 1838, a son of 
Conrad and Eva Catherina Mans. In 
1855 the family emigrated to the United 
States, and after stopping for a short time 
in New York city came to Illinois and made 
their home in Peoria for a while. In Janu- 
ary, 1856, they removed to Logan countv, 
and the father purchased a farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres in what is now Laenna 
township, to the improvement and cultiva- 
tion of which he devoted his energies 
throughout the remainder of his active busi- 
ness life. He lost his wife in 1888, and his 
death occurred ten years later. They were 
the parents of six children, two sons and 



488 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lour (laughters, who grew up, namely : 
Philip, now deceased ; Mary, wife of John 
Fishbach ; Peter; ]\Iargaret, wife of Chris 
Suedniier ; Katie, wife of Paulus Horn : and 
Minnie, wife of George Stoll. 

Peter Maus was educated in the public 
schools of his native land, which he attended 
from the age of six to fourteen }-ears. He 
came with the family to the new world and 
assisted his father in the operation of the 
home farm until the inauguratioii of the 
Civil war. Prompted by a love for his 
adopted country, he enlisted in 1862 in Com- 
panv P), One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry, Cokmel Latham com- 
manding the regiment and Captain John 
.\sher the company. He did mostly guard 
and garrison duty, and was in active ser\-ice 
three vears, Ijeing honorably discharged in 
July, 1865, at Springfield, Illinois. 

Returning to his home in Logan count)-, 
?\Ir. Maus resumed farming upon land which 
he rented from his father. On the ist of 
February, 1866, he was unitetl in marriage 
with Miss Louise Zimmerman, of Logan 
county, a daughter of Jeihn Zimmerman. 
Thev have two children : Henry, who was a 
student in the Lincoln high school for three 
years and is now aiding his father in business 
at Latham; and Mem-ietta. wife of L. E. 
Hunt, a confectioner and baker, of Latham. 

After his marriage Mr. INIaus resided on 
the old homestead for three years, and then 
purchased eighty acres of land in Laenna 
township, to which he subsequently added a 
tract of one hundred and sixty acres. He 
was successfullv engaged in general farming 
and stock-raising there until 1878. and still 
owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
that township. He then removed to Latham 
and formed a partnership with Z. K. Wood 
under the firm name of Z. K. Wood & Com- 
pany, and as such they luue since success- 



tully engaged in the grain and coal business, 
Tio other firm in his line having continued in 
business as long. 

Socially Mr. Maus is a meml^er of the 
-Alodern Woodmen of America. The Dem- 
ocratic party has alwa\s found in him a 
stanch supporter of its principles, antl his 
fellow citizens, recognizing" his worth and 
abilitv, ha\'e called upon him to serve four 
terms as a member of the city council and 
two years as county supervisor. Though 
born on the other side of the Atlantic, he is 
thoroughly American in thought and feeling, 
and is patriotic and sincere in his love for 
the stars and stripes. His career is identi- 
fied with Logan county, where he has ac- 
quired a comfortable competence and where , 
he is an honored and resi^ected citizen. \ 



SAMUEL H. McLEAN, M. D. 

Dr. Samuel H. McLean is the present 
efficient superintendent of the .\.sylum for 
Feeble Minded Children at Lincoln, and is 
one of the most successful physicians of the 
county. A native of Illimiis, he was born in 
Montgomery county, April 12, 1849, and is 
a son of Robinson and Emily (Barry) Mc- 
Lean, natives of North Carolina and Ken- 
tuckv. respecti\-ely. They were married 
near Ilillsboro, Illinois, and on their farm 
near that place spent their entire married life. 
The father was educated in the subscription 
schools of his native state, and always en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. In politics 
he was first an old-line Wliig and later a 
Republican, but was never an aspirant for 
office, though he was called upon to fill nnnor 
])ositions of honor and trust in his locality. 
He died on the old homestead in ]\b;ntgom- 
ery county, in January, 1877, and his wife 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



489 



in January, 1895. They were the parents of 
nine children, of whom seven reached ma- 
turity, namely: John C. a farmer of Bond 
count}-. Illinois, who enlisted at the age of 
seventeen in the Forty-ninth Illinois Volun- 
teer Infantry, during the Civil war and 
ser\ed four years; Samuel II.. our subject; 
Xina, wife of Jesse Seybert, of ^^lacoupin 
county, Illinois ; Man', wife of Charles H. 
Brown, of Alontgomery county; Joseph R., 
Avho li\'es on the home farm in that county; 
^lelissa, wife of Emory Barr, of Greenville, 
Illinois; and Ida. wife of Henr\- Mitts, of 
Hillsboro. The children were all educated 
in the public schools of Montgomery county. 

Dr. JklcLean grew to manhcxjd upon the 
home farm. His early education, acquired 
in the common schools of his native county, 
was supplemented by three years' attendance 
at Hillsboro Academy. He also took an 
electi\'e course at Lincoln University, where 
he spent one year, and then entered the Ec- 
lectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati. Ohio, 
where he was graduated in 1874. He be- 
gan the practice of medicine at Donnellson, 
Montgomer}- county, and after spending 
three years at that place removed to Hills- 
boro. where he built up a large and hicrati\e 
practice, remaining there until appointed to 
his present jjosition by Governor Yates in 
I go I. He has much natural ability, but is 
withal a close student and believes thor- 
oughly in the maxim "there is no excellence 
without labor." His devotion to the duties 
of his profession, therefore, combined with 
a comprehensive understanding of the prin- 
ciples of the science of medicine, has made 
him a most successful and able practitioner, 
whose prominence is well deserved. 

At Hillsboro, in 1875, Dr. McLean was 
united in marriage with Miss Lina Kerr, 
who was born in Ohio, in 1850, and was ed- 
ucated in the public schools and Hillsboro 



Academy. Her parents both died in this 
state. The Doctor and his wife have one 
son. Benjamin O., born in February, 1886. 
They are both members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and he is connected with 
several fraternal orders, including the Ma- 
sons, which he joined in 1876. As a Re- 
publican he takes cjuite an active part in poli- 
tics, and is very prominent in inedical circles. 
Dr. McLean has for many years been active 
in Republican circles, having been mayor of 
Hillsboro three terms, chairman of the 
county and congressional Republican central 
committees, and during the campaign of 
1900 was on the McKinley electoral ticket. 



JOSEPH A. SXOOK. 

Joseph A. Snook, who carries on farm- 
ing most successfullv on section 24, At- 
lanta township, has spent most of his life in 
that locality, and is a worthy representative 
of one of its honored families, being a son of 
John A. and Allsha ( Hendrickson) Snook. 
The father was born in Maryland, ]\Iarch 11, 
1820. and in early life engaged in the distill- 
ing business for a few years, but the greater 
part of his attention was always devoted to 
agricultural pursuits and he Ijecame one of 
the extensive farmers of Logan county. In 
1864 he removed from Indiana to McLean 
count)-. Illiiiois, and subsequently took up his 
residence in Logan county, having property 
in lioth counties. Here he died July 20, 
1900, lea\-ing a large family and a host of 
friends to mouni his loss. He was what the 
world terms a self-made man, having started 
in life with no capital save that acquired 
through his own unaided exertions. He was 
left an orphai-i at a tender age aiid was 
reared bv strangers. His wife departed this 



49° 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



life August 7, 1890. They were the parents 
of thirteen children, sexen of wliom readied 
years of maturit}-. 

The su1)ject of tliis sketch was horn in 
Jay county, Indiana, .\ugust 16, 1859, and 
in 1864 came with liis parents to this state, 
being" reared mi the farm in .Vtlanta town- 
ship, Logan coiuitv, A\here lie still resides. 
He nnw owns one hundred and fifty acres of 
land, and is quite successfully engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. He received a good 
common school educaticjn, is industrious, en- 
terprising and progressive, and is regarded 
as one of the best citizens of his community. 

Mr. Sufjok was married. Feliruary 19. 
1882, to IVIiss Emma ^lorford, a daughter of 
Robert ^Nlorford, of DeWitt county, Illinois. 
Tlie only child born of this union died in 
infancy. Mr. Snook affiliates with the Dem- 
ocratic party, and is a member of the Mod- 
ern \\'ocdmen of America. He has never 
sought publicit}'. luit is considered one of the 
up-to-date farmers of the community, and is 
ready to assist all enterprises for the public 
good. 



WILLIAM G. P.^YXE. 

William (i. I^a\-ne. proprietor of the only 
liver}- and feed stable in Ilartsburg, has for 
more than a third of a century lieen a resi- 
dent of Logan county. He was born in 
Monroe county. Indiana. March jo, 1847, 
liis i)arents being Xoah and Lucinda Payne, 
both of whom were natives of North Caro- 
lina, whence after their marriage they re- 
moved to ]\Ionroe countv. Indiana, where 
the father devoted his energies tn agricul- 
tural pursuits until his death, which occur- 
red February 3, 1883, when he was seventy- 
two years of age. His wife was born No- 
vember 23. 18 16, and died August 10, 1901. 



They had a family of five children, as fol- 
lows : Frank, who resides upon a farm in 
]\Ionroe county: Jolm, who is living on the 
old homestead there; IMaggie, the wife of 
Joseph Mattingly. a resident of Council 
Bluffs, Iowa ; William G. and Daniel, 
who died in the army in 1863. 

Like the otlier children of the family, ]\Ir. 
Pa\-ne pursued his education in the public 
schools near his home and in his y(juth he 
assisted in the lalwrs of the home farm. At 
the age of nineteen he came to Logan cijunty, 
where he secured employment on the old 
Sheets farm in Or\-il township, remaining 
there for six years. Then with the money 
he had saved from his earnings he purchased 
a small farm on section 3(3, Orvil township, 
making it his home for four years, when he 
bought another tract of land on section 4 of 
the same township. Establishing his home 
thereon, he \\as there engaged in farming 
for seventeen years, carrying on his work 
with good success, the well tilled fields yield- 
ing to him golden har\-ests in return for his 
labor. At length, selling the farm, he re- 
movetl to Hartsburg and opened the livery 
and sale stable O'f which he is still the pro- 
prietor. It is his earnest desire to please 
his patrons, and. therefore, their trade once 
gained is alwa\s retaineil. He has a nice 
line of rigs and some good horses, and his 
business is constantly growing. He is also 
engaged in the stock business, buying and 
shipping cattle and ho'gs. 

Mr. Payne was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth Sheets, a nati\-e of Monroe 
county. Indiana, and a daughter of John 
Sheets, who was also^ one of the earl}- set- 
tlers of Logan cnunty. lllinnis. taking up his 
abode upon a farm here in 1855. Both he 
and his wife have nnw passed away. LTnto 
Mr. and ^Irs. Pavne have been horn ten chil- 
dren : Myrtle, the wife of lames Berrv, who 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



491 



is living in Prairie Creek township Logan 
county: ^Nliggie. at home; Frank, who as- 
sists his father in tlie li\-ery stable and is 
also town marshal: Samuel, Nettie, Noah. 
McDonald. Odie. Lulu and George, all with 
their parents. For several years Mr. Payne 
has served as schodl director of Orvil town- 
ship, and in his political affiliations he is a 
stanch Democrat. He and all his famil}- 
are members of the Bethel Cnristian church, 
and in the community they have man}- 
friends. 



GEORGE A. KRETZIXGER. 

G. A. Kretzinger. postmaster at Latham. 
Illinois, and one of the prominent citizens of 
this locality, was bom in Latham. IMarch 16, 
1869, and is a son of W. H. and Sarali, E. 
( Leib I Kretzinger. both of whom were na- 
ti\-es of Ohio. The father is still living, 
aged sixty, while the mother died at Latham 
in April, i88g. 

\\'. H. Kretzinger. with his family, came 
to Illinois soon after his marriage in Ohio, 
and for a short time farmed near Warsaw. 
Later the\' removed to Logan county, long 
before the construction of the railroad in 
this localit}-. The father was a farmer and 
our subject's boyhood was spent on a fami. 
He not only received a common school edu- 
cation but also was given the advantage of 
attending an excellent business college at 
Springfield, Illinois, when he was about nine- 
teen years of age. After finishing this 
course he worked at various callings, among 
other things clerking in a Chicago hotel for 
two years, and one year he spent in Kansas 
City, Missouri. 

Returning to his early home Mr. Kretz- 
inger was married in 1894 to Miss Eunice 



Clark, of Latham, and two children have 
been born of this union, namely : Harold 
and Mar\- Fern, both of whom were b(jrn in 
Latham. 

The elder Mr. Kretzinger has always 
been a stanch Republican and prominent in 
the ciiuncils of the party. For two terms he 
ser\ed with distinction in the state legisla- 
ture and was sergeant-at-arms of the senat*^ 
for several years as well as clerk of the house 
tw(! terms. Xaturally our subject should 
from boyhood take an active interest in poli- 
tics, and just as naturally that he should be 
as strong a Republican as his father. In 
1897 he was appointed postmaster of La- 
tham, and he has been re-appointed to the 
same oftice. and enjoys the distinction of 
being the first to recei\e appointment under 
President McKinley's first administration in 
this congressional district. Mr. Kretzinger 
is a meml>er of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. No. 321, and has served as vener- 
able consul, and he is also a member oi the 
Farmers' Federation. Mr. Kretzinger has 
also added a stock of groceries tO' his busi- 
ness. 



JACOB NIX. 

Jacob Nix. a substantial and prominent 
farmer of Logan county, operates a fine 
estate of two hundred and twenty-six acres 
in Elkhart township, and is one of the most 
respected citizens of the district. The birth 
of Mr. Nix occurred in Germany. May 17, 
1849. and he was a son of Jacob and Katie 
( Schaefer) Nix, both natives of Germany. 
The parents passed their lives in their native 
country, where the father died in 1890 and 
the mother in 1886. They had a family of 
four children, these being: Philopcne, who 
resides, unmarried, in Oran township, this 



492 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county ; Mary, widow of Gustave Kneclit, of 
the same township, who' died in 1890 ; Annie, 
who is the wife of Henry Tisenger and re- 
sides on the Rhine in Germany; and Jafolo 
tlie youngest of the family. 

Until he was fourteen years of age Jacob 
Nix was a schoolboy in his native land, after 
which he followed farming until he was 
drafted intO' the German army, in December. 
1869. His ser\ices covered two years and 
he took part in the Franco^Prussian war, 
surviving nine fierce battles. The year fol^ 
lowing the war he spent in his Fatherland, 
but in October, 1873, he came to Elkhart 
township, Logan county. Illinois, and en- 
gaged in farm work by the month, finding 
plenty of employment. For some two years 
Mr. Ni.x rented land, gradually preparing to 
locate in a desirable part of the county and 
establish a home. 

Mr. Nix was united in marriage, Febru- 
ary 12. 1882, in Springfield. Illinois, to> Miss 
Barbara Tanlienreiter. who was born in Ger- 
many, Februar_\- 6. 1852. She was a daugh- 
ter of Henry Tanbenreiter. also' a native of 
Gemiany. where both of her parents died, 
having li\'ed upon a farm all their lives. 
Mrs. Nix came to Springfield, Illinois, from 
her German home in 1881. She was one of 
a famih' of twelve children, as follows: 
Conrad, whO' resides in Germany ; Katie, 
who' married and died in Germany ; Barbara. 
who married Conrad Bellman and resides in 
Springfield. Illinois; Effie. who resides in 
Germany and receives a pension from tlui 
German government, her deceased husband 
having been an ofircial ; while the others, with 
the exception of Mrs. Nix, still remain at 
the old home. 

Three children ha\'e been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Nix, as follows: Avey, wife of 
David Cowhick, of \\'inchester, Scott coun- 
ty, Illinois; Henrv, ;it home; and .\nna B., 



who also remains at home. After his mar- 
riage Mr. Nix continued to farm, and now 
operates a large estate in section 30, Elkhart 
township, where he has been particularly suc- 
cessful in raising high-grade stock for mar- 
ket. He is considered one of the best farm- 
ers in his locality and is surrounded with 
every comfort. His political belief is in the 
Democratic party, and he is a leading mem- 
ber of the German Lutheran church, in Lin- 
coln, Illinois. 



PATRICK MURPHY. 

Patrick Murphy, one of the substantial 
farmers of Hurllnit township, Logan county, 
Illinois, was born in ,Count\' Carlow, Ire- 
land, Julv 2y. 1825, a son of John and Brid- 
get ( Roach ) Murphy, nati\-es of Ire- 
land, the latter liorn in County Wexford, 
The parents were married in their native 
land, where the father engaged in farming 
and stone-cutting, and where he died in 1827, 
his wife sur\-i\ing him until 1856. Into this 



famih 



, ere born the following children : 



Catherine, who married Michael Welsh, the 
former of whom died in Menard county, Illi- 
nois, and the latter in Texas ; .\nn, who be- 
came the wife of Lawrence Murphy and died 
in Ireland ; Julia, who' is the widow of 
Michael Ryan and lives in Freeport, Illinois; 
Patrick; and Thomas, who married Maggie 
Walters, both of whom died in Freeport, 
Illinois. 

In his nati\e land Patrick Murphy at- 
tended the public schools until his fourteenth 
year, after which he worked for his step- 
father, Patrick Burns, until he was eighteen 
years old. Following this he li\ed with his 
sister for a time, and April 8, 1849, i'l com- 
pan\- with his brother, he embarked for 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



493 



America fruiii Wexford. The sailing craft 
Don Brodie had a cahn and pleasant voyage, 
under command of Captain \\'illiams. and 
the hrothers landed in New York Ma\' i. 
1849. I'or a day and a night Mr. Murphy 
remained in New York City, and the fdllow- 
ing Sunday morning arri\ed in Bennington, 
Vermont. In that state he \v< irked In- the 
month on a farm for seven dollars and a half, 
his hours of serx'ice extending from four in 
the morning until nine in tlie evening. At 
the end of a }ear he sought to- hetter his con- 
dition bv removing to Hoosick Falls. Xew 
York, where he worked for one man on his 
farm for five years. In the fall of 1854 Iie 
went by rail to Chicago, Illinois, and from 
there to Springfield, being unsuccessful in 
finding work in either place. Somewhat dis- 
couraged, he went to Chatham, l>ut was soon 
sent for to fill a position in the American 
Hotel, at Springfield, at twenty-five dollars 
per month. Si)ringfield was then but a small 
\illage, and the hotel was located on the 
southeast corner of the square. After a year 
and a lialf Mr. Murphy repaired to Freeport. 
Illinois, where, after a long illness, he en- 
gaged in different occupations, annMig them 
being that of hardware, contracting and 
railroading. 

On August 9. 1855, at Galena, Illinois, 
;\Ir. Murpliy was united in marriage with 
.\nn Barrons, a native of County ]\Ieath. 
Ireland, born August 15, 1830. The ])ar- 
ents of Mrs. Murphy, Thomas and Catherine 
(Tallon) Barrc.iis, were natives, respect- 
ively, Oif Cotintv ]\Ieath and County Louth, 
Ireland. The father was a farmer in his 
native land, and emigrated to' America in 
1830 on the sailing vessel Fidelia, the \(iy- 
age consuming five weeks and three days. 
The tri]) was a stormy one, and there was 
one death aboard ship. Landing in Xew 



York Alay 10, 1850. the Barrons family 
came to Illinois after a visit of a month, and 
located fifteen miles southwest of F"reeport, 
<.n a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, 
where they passed the remainder of their 
days. The father died April 9, 1878, at the 
age of seventy-one years, and the mother 
Alay 31. 1894, at the age of eighty-eight 
years. They were successful farmers, and 
left to their children over four hundred acres 
of valuable land. Mr. Barrons held almost 
all of the township offices. He was a Demo- 
crat, and a member of the Catholic church, 
and was well thmight of all through the 
county. Of the children born to this couple, 
Iannis married Mary Mahan and lived in 
I'reeport. and both are dead: Mary is also 
deceased, as is her husband, Israel Sheets, of 
Stockton, Illinois John died from the effects 
of eN]iosure while serving in an Illinois regi- 
ment during the Civil war; .\nn is the wife 
of Patrick ]\Iurphy ; Cathe'rine died at the 
age of fifty-three years : Patrick, who never 
married, served during the Ci\il war, was 
assistant postmaster at Xew Orleans, and 
died at the age of forty-eight years: Lucy 
resides at Freeport and keeps house for her 
br( ther, Joseph Barrons, the next of the fam- 
ily : and Eliza died at the age of ele\en vears. 
After his marriage Mr. Murphy lived for 
hve _\'ears in Freeport, Illinois, and then went 
to Sangamon county, where he remained f(jr 
a year and a half. In Menard cotnit\- he 
then purchased forty acres of land, upon 
\\hich he lived for seven years, and then sold 
the same and rented land for two vears. He 
later came to Hurlbut township, Logan 
county, and bought the farm upon which he 
now li\-es, and which contains two hundred 
acres on section 9. He has a fine home, 
situated on a high knoll, and raises the best 
marketal)le stock and engages in general 



494 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farming. In politics he is a Democrat, and 
with his family is a memher of the Catholic 
church. 

The children born to Mr. and ^Irs. Mur- 
phy are: Bridget, torn May 28, 1856, is 
the wife of Michael Grennan. has ten chil- 
dren, and lives on a farm of ten hundred and 
eightv acres in Whiteside county: John, born 
December 8. 1858. married Bridget INIurphy, 
lias four children, and lives at Glenarm, 
Sangamon county ; Eliza, born Xovemlier 7, 
1861, died June 5, 1890: Mary, born Feb- 
ruary 2. 1864. is not married, and has en- 
gaged in educational work in the public 
schools of Elkhart for fifteen years : Thomas, 
born April 12. 1866. lives on a farm in 
^Vhiteside county. Illinois: Lucy, born May 
II, 1868. is the wife of John Randall and 
lives near McCook. Nebraska ; William, lx)rn 
September 25. i86g. lives on a farm in Lo- 
gan county: Catherine, born January 17. 
1872, lives with her parents : James, born 
January 28, 1875, '^ time-keeper on the canal 
being built through Illinois : and Joseph, 
born August 5, 1878, lives with his parents. 



CHARLES W. TYLER. 

Logan county is fortunate in having in 
its offices men of well known business abil- 
ity and of unquestioned loyalty and proljity. 
Such a one is Charles W. Tyler, who has 
served as county supervisor from Prairie 
Creek township. He is variously connected 
with the agricultural and industrial inter- 
ests of the county, and in every relation of 
life has borne himself in a manner to win 
the confidence, g(xxl will and respect of his 
fellow citizens. 

Few people can trace their ancestry in 
authentic line to a more remote period than 



Mr. Tyler, who is descended from the fa- 
mous Wat Tyler of England, who, in the 
year 183 1. lal^ored to free the poorer class 
of England from the e.xcessive burden of 
taxation placed upon it by the aristocracy. 
J-le is mentioned in Longfellow's poem en- 
titled Miles Standish. He had three sons, 
Sam.uel, John and \M!liam. who emigrated 
to this country and from the last named 
the subject of this review is descended. 
Prominent representatives of the name 
have been connected with events shaping 
the history of the country and the posterity 
of the three brothers is now a very numer- 
ous one. Captain John Tyler, the father of 
Charles W'., "is known to every old inhabit- 
ant of this part of Illinois, being numbered 
among the pioneers of the Ujcality. He 
was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, Xew 
York. July 10, 1810, and was united in 
marriage to Miss Susan Battle on the ist 
of January. 1838. After her death he was 
married again. Septemlser i. 1844. in Rays- 
ville. Henry county. Indiana, his second 
union being with Mahala Willits. and their 
first child was Charles W. Tyler, whose 
name intnxluces this review, and who was 
born in Raysville, November g. 1845. 

In 1852 Captain Tyler and his family 
started westward, traveling in a "prairie 
schooner" until they arrived at Middletown, 
Logan county, Illinois, February 2, 1852, 
which was then an important trading point. 
There a settlement was made, but after two 
years they removed to Prairie Creek town- 
ship, lixrating upon a farm where the sub- 
ject of this review was reared to manhood. 
The schools of the neighborhood were of a 
rather primitive character and therefore his 
educational privileges were limited, but ex- 
perience, reading and observation in later 
years have made him a well informed man. 
\\'ith the other members of the familv he 




C. W. TYLER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



497 



experienced many hardsliips and trials of 
pioneer life in the early days. The settlers 
lived largely upi.m wild game — deer, ducks 
and geese, all <.if which were plentiful. The 
nearest market was Pekin, which was 
twenty-tive miles distant, two days being- 
required to make the trip. Corn sold for 
ten cents per bushel and coal cost ten cents 
per bushel. It was principally used for 
fuel, for the timber in this locjality was 
very scarce. 

Air. Tyler assisted in the work of the 
home farm, the planting and plowing, and 
in all other departments of the labor neces- 
;sary for the development of the land and 
the cultivation of the crops. On the i6th 
of Septemljet, 1866, however, he started . 
out to make his own way in the world, and 
after traveling for two weeks in a prairie 
schooner through rain and mud he arrixed 
at Columbia, Boone county, Missouri. In 
that locality he carried on farming until 
.Septeml>er, 186-, but at that time the coun- 
try in that region was still full of Iiush- 
whackers, and he still bears the scar from 
a wound recei\'ed while chasing a gang of 
those lawless men. The conditions of the 
■countrv led him to return east, and he went 
to Wellington, Lorain county, Ohic*, but 
soon afterward removed to Cleveland. 
There he learned the carpenter's trade, and 
after completing his apprenticeship he re- 
moved to Anderson, Aladison county, In- 
diana, where he mastered the Cerman lan- 
guage. His next place of residence was 
Indianapolis, Indiana, and in Februarv. 
1877, he returned with his family to Prairie 
'Creek township. 

In the meantime he liad been married 
to I\Iiss H. J. Aldrich, who was a teacher 
in the institute for the blind, in Indianapo- 
lis, the wedding taking ])lace October 7, 
■1S74. She li\-ed little more than four years 



after their marriage. d}-ing January 16, 
1879, and lea\ing him with two small 
children: Bessie E., who married James 
Weaver and the\- reside at Oak- 
ford, Illinois; Simeon .V. married Mina 
Teagarden, of Steuben county, Indiana, 
and they reside at San» Jose. Illinois. On 
the 24th of December, following, he mar- 
ried Miss Catherine Woehrle, of Forest 
City, Mason county, Illinois, and by this 
union there have been born five children, 
four of whom are li\-ing: Byron F., Lill- 
ian W., I'rederick C, and Mary C, all at 
home. 

L'pon again coming to Logan county 
Mr. Tyler resumed farming and is now the 
owner of a valuable farming property near 
San Jose. This is under a high state of cul- 
ti\-ation and is supi)lied Avith all modern ac- 
cessories and conveniences for facilitating 
his work and rendering it more effective. 
While he is a progressive and energetic 
agriculturist, he does not confine his atten- 
tion along this line of endeavor, being one 
of the directors and the vice-president of 
the Citizens Coal & Mining Company, of 
Lincoln, and a stockholder in the San Jose 
Bank, of San Jose. His fellow citizens, 
recognizing his worth and ability, as well 
as his patriotic citizenship, have elected him 
to public office. In 1880 he was chosen 
for the position of town clerk, in which 
capacity he acceptably' served for eight 
years, and in i88g he was elected super- 
visor of Prairie Creek township, filling that 
position continuously for nine years. 0\'er 
his public life there falls no shadow of 
wrong, tor at all times he has laeen loyal 
to his duty. In business transactions his 
course is e\'er straightforward, and in all 
life's relations he has commanded the re- 
spect <if his fellow men. The success he 
has achie\-ed is the result of his own ef- 



498 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



forts, for in early manhood when he started 
out in life he had no capital, and it has l)een 
the rears of industry' and enterprise which 
have hroug'ht to him prosperity. 



EDWARD B. XICHOLSON. 

One of the most progressix'e fanners and 
reliai)le and esteemed citizens of Logan 
county. Illinois, is Edward B. Xicholson. 
who was born May 4, 1851, in Elkhart 
Grove, this county, and is a son of John and 
Alary E. (Constant) Xicholson. the former 
a nati\'e of Yorkshire. England, and the lat- 
ter of Sangamon conntw Illinois, born on 
Wolf creek. 

John Xicholson came to America and lo- 
cated in this state. He met and married 
Mary E. Constant, in Springfield, Illinois. 
He engaged in farming near Elkhart Gro\e 
and became the possessor of two hundred 
acres of fertile land. His death occurred in 
1854. His widow later married R. C. 
Llox'd, a nati\'e of Virginia, and they lived 
on the farm owned by the widow until 1866. 
when they removed tO' the farm knowu in 
this neighborhood as the Miles Leach farm, 
where the_\- remained until 1886, when they 
made a trip to Iowa, prospecting, but shortly 
after Air. Lloyd was taken ill at a hotel and 
died, in 1890. The mother of our subject 
died December 21, 1900. 

Edward B. Xicholson. of this .sketch, was 
one in a family of three children b_\- the first 
marriage of Mrs. Lloyd, his one sister and 
one brother being. — Hattie, who died at the 
age of se\-enteen years: and J. T.. who' mar- 
ried .Anna Bogardus. of Elkhart. Illinois, 
and resides at Dexter, Kansas. The chil- 
dren by the second marriage were as follows : 
Tulia, who died at the age of seventeen years ; 



Henry L., unmarried, a retired farmer living 
in Lincoln, Illinois: Garrett, who died at the 
age of twenty years : Robert, who died at the 
age of two years; and John B., who is mar- 
ried and resides at W'ellman, Iowa. 

Edward B. Xicholson, of this biography, 
passed his lioyhood attending school, being 
an apt and ambitious student in the Prairie 
College school-house in Elkhart. He as- 
sisted his father on the farm until he was ■ 
twent_\--three }ears old, preparing for his 
later successful agricultural life. 

Mr. Xich(;lson was united in marriage, 
October 20, 1S73, at Elkhart. Illinois, to- 
Miss Lizzie Chick, who' was born in Spring- 
field in 1852, and was a daughter of Robert 
Chick, a nati\e of Kentucky. Her death oc- 
curred March 20. 1881. Air. Xicholson 
was married February _'o, 1886, at W'infield, 
Kansas, to Aliss Jennie Cochran, a native of 
Saybroo-k. Illinois, born X^oveml>er 29, 1866, 
and the daughter of John Cochran, who was 
born in Palestine. Illinois, February T4, 
1830, and his wife. Lizzie (Jordan) Coch- 
ran, who. was born in (josport, Indiana, Fel> 
ruary 22. 1837. and in that city was married 
Alarch 20, 1855. Air. and Airs. Cochran 
remained for a time in Gosport, and then re- 
mo\ed to AlcLean county, Illinois, locating 
at Savbrook, where he engaged in farming, 
but later remo\-ed to \Mnfield, Kansas, 
where he owns two hundred and forty acres 
of land. The mother died Xovemlier 20, 
1894, 'iii'l ^li^ \^"'is IJiid to rest at Prairie 
Ridge, Kansas. In 1862 Air. Cochran en- 
listed for service in die Civil war. entering 
Com]ian\- F, One Flundred and Sixteent'n 
Volunteer Infantry, and served gallantly 
through four years, accompanying General 
Sherman in all of his campaigns. He was 
mustered out as orderly sergeant, in June, 
1865. He is an honored member of the 
Grand .Army of the Republic, and attends- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



499 



and lil)erallv supports the Christian churcli. 
In pohtics he is a Democrat. 

Mrs. Nicholson is one of a family of three 
sons and three daughters Ijorn to her par- 
ents, namely : Alfred, who married Minnie 
Caster and resides at Eatonville, Kansas ; 
James, who married Hattie Oertington and 
resides at Eatonville, Kansas; Jennie L., the 
wife i:f (lur suhject; Xellie, who married 
Newton Julien and resides at Blackwell, 
Oklahoma; John W'.. who married Eliza 
Thnnipson and resides at Eatonville ; and 
Julia, who died in infancy. 

Four children were born to Mr. Nichol- 
son by his first wife, namely; Hattie 'SI.. 
born November 16. 1875, died January 24, 
1880; John E., b(.irn August 13, 1878, re- 
sides with his father; Hallie ^I., born Au- 
gust 24, ]88o, married. March 8, 1898, Orf 
French, resides at Mt. Pulaski and has one 
son, — Harold; and Thomas J., born October 
12, 1882, resides with his parents. The 
children of the second marriage were: Con- 
stant, who was born January 5, 1887, and 
died July 2(). 1888; Nellie, born December 
10. i88y; and Myrtle, born December 18, 
1892. 

.After his marriage Mr. Nicholson went 
to Kansas and sf)on liecame ideutitied with 
jiublic affairs in W'infield, being m;i<le mar- 
shal there and holding the position for three 
years. The next year and a half were spent 
in Illinois, l)ut he then went back to Kansas, 
w here- he bought a farm of three hundred 
and sixty acres, upon which the fanu'h- li\ed 
for fourteen years, until 1894. Our subject 
tlien returned to Logan county, selling all 
bis business interests in Kansas and renting 
the farm he now occui)ies froiu his step- 
brother. L. H. Lloyd. Here he has twj 
hundred and four acres, located in sections 
,V and 32. Elkhart township, with an excel- 
lent residence, barns and all kinds of im- 



pro\-enients : in fact, this is one of the most 
desirable country homes in the locality. He 
is ex'erywhere held in the highest esteem as 
a man of integrity and honor. 

Air. Nicholson has always taken an ac- 
tive ])art in ])olitics as a Republican, has been 
a member of the executive committee and 
was elected as sujjervisor in 1898. and al- 
though it was a Democratic board he was 
])laced on the poor farm committee for two 
\ears, one of the active committees of the 
board. He was re-elected in 1900. running 
ahead of his ticket, and has taken an active 
jjart in the work of the board. In educa- 
tional affairs he also takes his part, having 
been a nienilier of the schoul Ixvard for some 
years and president o'f it for the past two- 

\ears. 

♦-•-♦ • 

JOHN F. T.\LM.\GE. 

As a farmer, speculator and all-around 
l)usiness man and enterprising member of 
society Air. Taliuage is destined to till an 
impoi'tant ])lace in the history of Lincoln and 
\icinitv. .\t ])rcsent living on his farm of 
one hundred and ninety acres in Broadwell 
townshi]), he is contemplating a speedy re- 
nio\al into the city of Lincoln, where he is 
a large ])ro])ertv owner and has nian\- inter- 
ests to, engage his many-sided abilitv. lie 
was l)orn in Logan county, September 15, 
1864, and in liis youth had ever before him 
the exam])le of an industrious and progress- 
ive father. Ijenjaiuin ]•". Talmage, who was 
born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1832. The 
elder Talmage was reared in his nati\e state, 
and when ]);irtially grown ser\e<l an appren- 
ticeship of four years to a car])enter. 1 le 
crmie to Illinois al)out 1856 and settled in 
Lincoln, where he huilt some of the lirst 
houses in the \ill;ige. but he e\entuallv re- 



500 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mo\-ed to Broadwell tijwnship, where lie be- 
came the possessor of two hundred and 
^inet^" acres of land, and where he lived un- 
til he was able to- retire from active labor. 
when he returned to- Lincoln, and he resided 
there f<')r about fifteen years prior to his 
death, which dccurred in 1891. He was a 
remarkably prosperous man, a good financier 
and a man of high moral principle, and 
started out tO' make his way in the world 
from the liotto-m rcaind O'f the ladder. At 
the time of his death he owned, besides his 
farm property, considerable real estate in the 
citv of Lincoln. The paternal grandfather 
of our subject was of English descent, and 
<bed in Newark, New Jersey, abnut thirty 
years ago, the grandmother living to be 
Tiinetv-one years of age. 

Benjamin Talmage was married, in i860, 
to Elizabeth C, daughter of Charles C. Fer- 
ris, who came from Ohio. Of this union 
there were two children, nf wlmm John T. 
is older and Charles D., now li\-ing in Lin- 
coln, is the younger. John F. Talmage was 
educated in the district schools of Logan 
county and the high school of Linculn, and 
also took a course at the business college 
at Burlington. Iowa. He aided his father 
in the management of the home farm, and 
/;!evelo]ied. when quite \'(iung, ambitious and 
industrious tendencies. After his father's 
■death he came into the i>0'Ssession of his 
present properties, which he has managed 
with skill and upon strict business principles. 
He has built a pleasant home at the corner of 
'NA'yatt avenue and Hamilton street, Lincoln, 
where he has made his home since the au- 
tumn of I go I. 

In 1893 Mr. Talmage married Louise 
Friend, a daughter of Hiram Friend, now 
deceased. Mrs. Talmage was born in 1874. 
and had one sister, Mattie, who is now the 
Avife of T. P. Dehner, of Lincoln. Two chil- 



dren ha\e been born to ^Ir. and Mrs. Tal- 
mage, Hiram F. and Alarie L., who were 
i)i!rn, respecti\'ely, in 1894 antl 1900. Mr. 
Talmage is a Republican in politics, but has 
never sought office. Fraternally he is asso- 
ciated with the Knights of Pythias and with 
the Modern Woodmen of America. 



i 



JOHN C. GRAH.\M. 

Jobn C. Graham, one of the prosperous 
and well-known farmers of Logan county, 
was bcirn in County West Meath, Ireland, 
October 10. 1836, a son of William and Ann 
( Lowe) Graham, natives of the same part of 
Ireland. The parents were married in their 
natixe land, and there the mother died in 
1844. The father, entertaining large hopes 
of life in America, emigrated witii his fam- 
ily I if ti\e children, in 1849. The jtmrnev 
was undertaken in a sailing vessel, and 
lasted three weeks, the voyagers settling 
in Xew Jerse}', where the father pur- 
chased forty acres of land where the 
town of Clayton is now located. Life in 
the new country so- auspiciously begun was 
destined to be o^vertaken with misfortune, for 
when three months had elapsed the father 
sickened and died and the children were face 
to face with the dire problem of their own 
support. John C. had received a limited ed- 
ucation in Ireland, but he was an industrious 
lad and faced the great calamity of his fa- 
ther's death with fortitude and practical as- 
sistance, for he at once began to work on a 
farm bv tlie month. Hoping to Ijetter his 
prospects, he came to Illinois in 1855. lo- 
cating in Menard county, where for four 
\ears he continued to do farm work by the 
month. From the savings of his laliors he 
was enabled to purchase forty acres oi iiartly 
impro\-ed land, which he proceeded tO' culti- 




THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5or 



vate, and to this was added from time tO' time 
until he became the possessor of four hun- 
dred and twenty-tive acres of land. Part of 
this was in Menard and the balance in Logan 
counties, and at the present time it is splen- 
didly improved, with an e.xcellent residence 
and modern barns, fences and outhouses. 
J\lr. Graham moA'ed to his pleasant home on 
section 8, Hurlbut township, in 1892. While 
it was an improved farm, which he had 
rented for some time, he has practically re- 
newed all of the buildings and made a beau- 
tiful home. 

At Lincoln. Illinois, October i(), 1879. 
^Ir. Graham married Margaret F. Goodpas- 
ture, wild was 1)1 irn near Peterslnu-g. Menard 
county. May 10, 1846. Her parents, Jeffer- 
son and ^largaret ( ^Masters) Goodj)asture. 
were nati\'es of Tennessee, in which state 
they were married, September 9, 1832. and 
from there they removed to Illinois soon 
afterward. They at first located near 
Petersljurg. and then sjjent some time in 
Missouri, returning to Menard county. Illi- 
nois, where the father Iwught land. At the 
time of his death, November 6, 1881, he had 
disposed of his farm and purchased property 
in Lincoln, Illinois, where his declining days 
were spent. The mother, who died April 
18, 1862, was the mother of a large family 
of children, seven of whnm are living: 
Thomas, who is living with j\Ir. Graham ; 
Sarah, who is the wife of Robert Graham, 
of Athens, Illinois: Winburn, who married 
Adaline ]3ennis and lives at Adams, Ne- 
braska; Hester, who is the wife of James 
Madison blasters, of Tobias, Nebraska: 
Mary, who is married to Isaac Masters, of 
]\Ienard county, Illinois ; Margaret, who is 
n.ow ]^Irs. Graham ; and Jennie, who is the 
wife of Andrew Comstock, of Lincoln, Illi- 
nois. 

-After his marriage ]\Ir. Graham began 



housekeeping in Menard county, Illinois, and 
in 1892 moved to Logan comity, upon the 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres left 
him b_\- his uncle, and which has since been 
his home. In addition to general farming 
lie raises a high grade of cattle and horses 
for market. Mr. Graham is a stanch Demo- 
crat and interested in local and county 
aft'airs, but has ne\er been willing to accept 
political office. He is a member of the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian church of Irish Grove, 
and stamls high in the communit}- as a man 
whose word is as good as his bond, and who 
is a progressive influence in all departments 
of life. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Graham ha^■e been born 
the following children : Addie, born Decem- 
ber 16, J 880; William John, born February 
22, 1882; Gracie, born December 8, 1883; 
Robert, born June 2, 1885, the twin of Ber- 
tha, who died October 28, 1894; Frank, born 
February ij, 1889; and Josie, the twin sister 
tif Frank, all of whom have been given good 
educatii mal advantages. 

]\Iucli credit is due Mr. Graham, who 
was left an orphan at the age of thirteen 
_\"ears in a strange land, depaident on his 
own resources. He was the second child 
and eldest son of a family of five children. 
Thus beginning with nothing but a determi- 
riation to succeed, Mr. Graham has come to 
be not only one of the prosperous men of Lo- 
gan county, but, what is more, — one of its 
most highly esteemed citizens for his in- 
legrit}- and sterling worth. 



JOHN KIICK. 



Aniong the prominent farmer citizens of 
Logan county, Illinois, now living retired 
after a life of industry, is John Kiick, the 



502 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



owner ct eight hundred acres of land and 
one of the county's most substantial resi- 
'dents. The birth of ^Ir. Kiick occurred in 
Hanover, Germany, March 26. 1833. and 
he is a son of Hans and ilargaret ( Broch- 
ers) Kiick. Our subject was reared on a 
farm in his native country and was a school- 
boy until the age of fifteen years, spending 
the time between that age and his majority 
in various kinds of work, and at the same 
time making plans to emigrate to the United 
States. His means were very limited, but 
he finally accumulated enough to start on 
the trip and landed in Xew Orleans, soon 
after reached St. Louis, and went from there 
to Blount Pulaski. Almost immediately he 
found work among the neighboring farm- 
ers and by industry and energy was pre- 
pared to set up a home of his own by 1857. 

It was in this year that Mr. Kiick was 
married to Miss Catherine Christman, who 
was a step-daughter of Adam Shick, and by 
this union nine children were born, as fol- 
lows : Margaret, who married Paul Heiser- 
man, and lives in Macon county ; John Her- 
man, who lives in the same county : Frank 
William, a farmer of Logan county, living 
in Latham ; Jacob Ernest, who is a mer- 
chant of Latham; George E., who is a farm- 
er of Latham ; Clara Emma, who married 
Lynch James, of Latham; Mary A., who 
married George Culp and lives near Latham ; 
Esther Catherine, who married O. J. Lucas, 
of Latham ; and Walter, who died at the 
age of fifteen years. 

In 1865 our subject rented a farm and 
worked it faithfully for three years, at the 
end of this period purchasing his first forty 
acres of land, near Burr Oak grove. Laenna 
township. In 1874 he sold this tract and 
bought one hundred and sixty acres adjoin- 
ing Latham, which he still owns, and as the 
years went by Mr. Kiick kept on adding 



land to his fine farm until now he is the 
owner of eight hundred acres in this vi- 
cinity. All of this property has been well 
improved and is under cultivation with the 
exception of the last tract purchased two 
years ago. 

Mr. Kiick has been a lifelong Democrat 
and for two terms was the efificient road 
commissioner, during which time he ren- 
dered his township excellent service. Al- 
though reared in the Lutheran church, he 
has become identified with the Evangelical 
denomination, where he is most highly re- 
garded. 



\\ESLEY A. KOCH, U. D. 

Among the prominent and successful 
young professional men of Middletowni, Lch 
gan county. Illinois, is Dr. W. A. Koch, who 
also took part in the Spanish- American war. 
The birth of Dr. Koch occurred at Pekin, 
llinois, and he is a son of Henry L. and 
Catherine ( Eckhart) Koch, both of whom 
were natives of Germany, although married 
in Pekin. Illinois, where Mr. Koch is en- 
gaged in a prosperous furniture and under- 
taking business, under the firm name of Al- 
bertson & Koch. His father was John 
Koch, and with him Henry came to the 
United States from Germany when he was 
but six years of age. The trip across the 
ocean required se\en weeks, as it was made 
in a sailing vessel, which landed its passen- 
gers at Xew York City. Later ]\Ir. Koch 
came west and located at Sheboygan, ^^'is- 
consin, where Henn,- attended school until 
he was fifteen years of age. Then he accom- 
panied his parents on their removal to 
Peoria, Illinois, where he was given educa- 
tional advantages until nineteen years of age, 
leaving: school at that time to become a mem- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



503 



ber of a xoluiiteer company. He sei"\-ecl 
faithfully as a soldier in the Civil war, after 
which he made his home in Pekin, Illinois, 
where he learned the trade of upholstering. 
Three years later he embarked in the business 
for himself and carried it on until 1880, when 
he enlarged his stock to embrace wall pa})er, 
paints, etc.. and in 1886 associated with him 
Mr. Albertson, in the furniture and under- 
taking business. 

Dr. Koch was given excellent educational 
advantages, his younger years being passed 
at school in a private German institution in 
Pekin. Later he attended the ward schools, 
l^assing with honor through the high school, 
from which he graduated in 1896. For one 
year the }-oung man studied the science of 
medicine with Dr. John I. Skell}'. of Pekin. 
antl thus prejiared, entered the medical de- 
partment of the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons in the University of Illinois, grad- 
uating with well-earned lionors ]\hn' j8, 
1901. 

On April 28, 1898, Dr. Koch enlisted for 
service in the Spanish-American war, enter- 
ing Company G. Fifth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry, and was mustered in at Springfield. 
From there he went direct to Chickamauga 
Park, then on to Newport Xews, Virginia, 
whence the regiment went on a transport un- 
der orders fiir Porto Rico. The Doctor was 
mustered out at Springfield, October 15, 
1898, having been corporal of his companw 

Dr. Koch is one of a family of eight chil- 
dren, the others being as follows : Rudolph 
married Lydia INlargarete. a daughter of a 
minister of the German Methodist church, 
and resides in Omaha, Nebraska, where he 
is in the agricultural implement business. 
They ha\e one child. Lewis, unmarried, is 
a resident of Pekin. George attends the pub- 
lic schools of Pekin. Celia is the wife of 
Louis De Vries, of Hepler, Kansas. Clara 



is at home. Etta died at the age of three 
}ears. 

On June 28, 1901, Dr. Koch came to 
Logan county, Illinois, and located for the 
practice of his profession in Middletown, 
where in this short jieriod he has built up a 
\"ery encouraging practice. He is a mem- 
ber of the American Medical Association, 
and is an able, energetic and scholarly young 
man. who has e\'er}- promise of l^ecoming 
distinguished in his profession. In politics 
he is a Republican, and he is a consistent 
member of the ^Methodist church. 



ZADOC W. GRAFF. 

A prominent citizen of Logan county, 
Illinois, is found in Zadoc W. Grafif, a resi- 
dent of Middletown, where he is highly es- 
teemed. His birth occurred in Morgan 
county, Illinois, October 23, 1861, and he is 
a son of Washington and Elizabeth ( Flynn) 
Grafif, both of whom were natives of the state 
of Kentucky, althdugh they were united in 
marriage in Jacksonville, Illinois. The fa- 
ther engaged in farming all his life, his 
death occurring November 7, 1895, the 
mother ha\ing passed away in 1864. The 
second marriage of Mr. GrafT, senior, was in 
1865, to Elizabeth Owen, who died in 1883, 
and in 1884 he married Minnie Christian, 
who now resides on the old homestead farm 
near Jacksonville. 

The children born to the first union were 
as follows: Molly, who is the widow of 
^larcellus Crum, and resides in Virginia, 
Illinois: ^^'illiam, who married ]\Iatie Berry 
and resides in Mnrgan countv, Illinois; 
Marguerite, deceased, w ho married Harmon 
Fisher, and later John McCawley and re- 
sided in St. Louis, Missouri; George, who 



504 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



died at the age of one year : Frank, wlia 
married Elvira Cogdell, and resides at 
Springfield; Zadoc ^^'.. of this biography: 
and General Grant, who married Emma 
Lewis and resides near Jacksonville. 

Zadoc W. Graft, the subject of this biog- 
raphy, attended the district school at the 
Graff school, remaining there until he at- 
tained the age of fifteen years, then becom- 
ing a student in the Jackson\ille Business 
College, and leaving that institution at the 
age of nineteen years. He began his busi- 
ness career in Albuquerque, New IMexico, 
where he was mail agent lietween that city 
and Pon Dowe, where there was a stage line 
of eighty miles with but one stop, which was 
at a smelting mill. At the end of a year he 
returned to Virginia, Illinois. The year fol- 
lowing his southern trip j\Ir. Graff was en- 
gaged in the butcher business and then went 
to Chandlersville, where for one and one- 
half years he was in the mercantile busi- 
ness, l)ut was then induced to remove to Fort 
Pierre, South Dakota, and open up a real es- 
tate Ijusiness, which for two years was a 
successful business venture. When he lo- 
cated there the flourishing town of Canning 
was only "on paper." but during his resi- 
dence there he did nnich to promote its in- 
terests, and at this time the population of 
this growing little city is fully one thousand 
citizens. Although he still feels an interest 
in the locality, 'Sir. Graff has sold all of his 
holdings there. 

Returning to Illinois, he purchased a 
farm of two hundred and thirty acres in 
Cass countv, and li\-ed upon that place, with 
his brother, about one and one-half years, 
when the brothers sold this property and 
bought two hundred acres in Morgan coun- 
ty, living there about two years, ^[r. Graff 
then saw a fine opportunity to embark in the 
grain business, and carried this on in Na- 



trona, Mason count}-, for four years, return- 
ing then to the old h(,imestead, where he 
li\'ed until 1897. In November of that year 
he moved to iNIiddletown, after settling up 
his father's estate, and again embarked in 
the grain business, in which he has been 
eminently successful. He owns one large 
grain elevator in Middletown. and another 
at Fancy Prairie. Illinnis. being one of 
the leading grain buyers nf this section. 

Mr. Graft' was married, September 15, 
1898. at ;\Iiddletown, to Edna Glenn, who 
was born here August 17, 1880, and is a 
daughter of J. A. Glenn, whose Ijiographical 
sketch appears in another part of this vol- 
ume. To 'Sir. and ]\Irs. Graff was born one 
son,- -Glenn \\'., on ]\Iay 4, 1899. 

Sociallv ^Ir. Graft' is connected with 
Ashland Lodge, K. P. ; [Myrtle Lodge, I. 
O. O. F., of [Middletown, and the Court of 
Honor. In politics he is a Republican, and 
ably performs the duties of a memljer of the 
town board of the prosperous little city of 
i\Iiddleto\vn. He is president of the [Middle- 
town [Mutual Telephone Company and one 
of its organizers, it being a prosperous com- 
pan\' with over one hundred 'phones. He is 
also captain of the Rough Riders, a branch 
of the Anti-Horsethief Associati<;)n, and has 
held the position since its organization, two 
vears ago. 



CHARLES S. LAWRFA'CE. 

The name of Lawrence is lidentified 
with the early days of Illinois, and with 
liie large and successful agricultural under- 
takings which have placed the state fore- 
most in the production of sustenance for ■ 
the nation. Charles S. Lawrence, whose \ 
useful and well balanced life spanned the 
distance between his birth, September 8, 




CHARLES LAWRENCE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



507 



1847, on the farm now occupied l.iy his 
ciiilch'en in Logan count}', and his death. 
Xovenil)ei" 12. 1895, '^^'^^ typical of the en- 
ergetic and honored middle western farmer, 
who judicioush- manages and ahundantly 
reaps. His father. Theodore Lawrence, a 
nati\-e of Hardy county. West Virginia, 
was one of the widely known pioneers of 
this part of the county, coming here di- 
recth' after his marriage in Springfield, Il- 
linois. Xo\-emljer jq. 1837, with Eli.ra 
Ann Tabor, a native of Ohio. He had jjre- 
viotisK" purchased land in Logan county, 
to which he added from time to time, s<^ 
that at the time of his death. March 23 . 
iS^j. he was the possessor of nearly two 
thousand acres. He was a self-made man 
in e\ery sense of the word, and at the age 
of tweh'e years began to personally support 
three brothers and one sister. He cher- 
ished a pride of birth, especially on his 
mother's side, for in this connection he was 
kin of the Steenbergers, one of the old and 
aristocratic southern families. He was a 
Ivepublican in politics, but steadfasth' re- 
fused official recognition, and he was a 
memljer of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
With his wife, who died March 19, 1889, 
he is buried on the old homestead in Logan 
County. 

The education (.)f Charles S. Lawrence 
was gained through a tutor and goyerness. 
both of whom came to his father's house. 
He was one in a famih' of fi\e cliildren, 
nanieh- : Frances V... who is the widow of 
.\ If red W. Turner, who died June 6, 1881 ; 
Elizabeth A., who became the wife of Alex- 
ander Lawrence, of Logan county, and both 
of whom are deceased; William S.. who 
married Virginia Daley, and they are also 
deceased: John T., who marrierl Frances 
Lawrence, and li\es on the old homestead 
in Logan county; and Charles S. 

27 



At the age (jf sixteen Mr. Lawrence left 
school, and, his father ha\-ing in the mean- 
lime died, he Ijecanie associated with his 
iirother in the care of the home farm. On 
Xo\-ember 13, 1872. he married, at Spring- 
field, Illinois, Miss Anna Eliza Westfall, 
who was born, in Sangamon county, near 
Old Berlin, _April 5, 1853. AI'.'s. Lawrence 
was one in a famih' of three sons and three 
daughters, nanieh': .Smith Westfail, who 
liyes in Kansas City. Missouri; .\r.na ]i.. 
who was the wife of Charles S. Lawrence; 
Helen, who died at the age of thirt^'-fiye; 
George, who is a resident of the Sand\»'ich 
Islands ; Leona, now deceased, -who was 
the wife of Thomas Strawbridge. of Ot- 
tawa, Kansas; and Charles, who lives in 
Ottawa. Kansas. To ]\Ir. and Mrs. Charles 
.S. Lawrence were Ixjrn seven children, all 
of whom, with the exception of _ Ro\', who 
died at the age of t\v(i x'ears, are living on 
the homestead. The children are: Anna 
Louise, (iwendolen, .Stella. Winifred, Mar- 
garet D.. and b" ranees Theodora. 

.\fter his father's death Mr. Lawrence 
liecame possessed of one thousand acres of 
land, including the old homestead, upon 
which he carried on large farming and 
stock-raising interests. He prospered ex- 
ceedingly, and at the time of his death left 
over one thousand acres In the siilendid 
inral honie now occupied by his daughters, 
and lie also owned [jroperty in Springfield, 
Illinois. I lis wife died Jul)- 28. 1894, and 
is buried at Oak Ridge cemeter\' with her 
husband. Mr. Lawrerice was prominent in 
the afifairs of the Republican ])art\', and 
represented his district in the 37th general 
assenibly. He was fraternalh' associated 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, of Elkhart, and was a member of 
Christ I-".piscopal church, of Sjiringfield. of 
which he was vestry man for a time. He 



So8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



possessed many of tlie stable and strong 
characteristics handed down from liis Eng- 
lish ancestry, and he was universally es- 
teemed for his integrity, his public-spirited 
enterprise, and for his agreeable personal- 
ity. 

» » » 

HON. NICHOLAS P. GASA\\'AY. 

Nicholas P. Gasaway, of the tirm of 
Gasaway & Son, general merchants, of 
Latham, Ulinijis, was born in Ross count}-, 
Ohio, March 4, 1848, a son of J. D. and 
]Martha J. (Caldwell) Gasaway. He was 
four years of age when his father left Ohio 
and located in Springfield. Illinois, where 
they spent one winter, going then to Lake 
Fork township, Logan county, where the 
father bought land, and upon that farm our 
subject grew to manhood. There was much 
to be done, as his father raisetl many head 
of cattle, and the only schoolmg he received 
was through the winter months. 

When almost twenty-one our subject 
was married, February 12, 1869, to ]Miss 
Eliza J. Sherer, of Lake Fork. Illinois, who 
was born in Grant county. Kentucky, and 
came to Illinois with her father, Da\id 
Sherer, when she was a child. After mar- 
riage Mr. Gasaway engaged in farming on 
his father's land for a few years, but later 
he bought eighty acres of wild land, for 
which he paid twenty-seven dollars an acre, 
and followed farming until 1900. I\lr. auil 
Mrs. Gasaway have had a family of five 
children, and four of these are still living. 
A sad blow was given our subject and wife 
in the death of the only daughter. Carrie 
E., a sweet girl of sixteen. The sons all 
grew to maturity and are among the most 
honored and highly respected citizens of this 
count}-, namely : Thomas, who is a partner 
in the mercantile business with his father, in 



Latham': J. D., who is an extensive farmer 
in Lake Fork township; Levi, who is 
also a farmer in Lake Fork township ; and 
John, the voungest, who is an efficient clerk 
in bis father's store. 

Our subject was reared in the Demo- 
cratic part}- and imbued with its principles, 
and he was still \-oung when be l>egan to 
take an active interest in political matters. 
As early as 1885 he was chosen supervisor 
of Lake Fork township, and for the twelve 
succeeding years no change was made in 
the incumbency of that office. He was the 
chairman of tiie board of supervisors during 
the last five years of bis official connection 
with the board, and during his administra- 
tion man}- improNements (jf a substantial 
character were niade in the county. It was 
through his instrumentality that eight}- acres 
of land were added to the county farm, and 
it was his good management that gained the 
county ten iron bridges, these being the first 
of the kind e\-er built here. ]\Ir. Gasaw-ay 
had the interests of the poor farm at heart 
and he ditl much toward its inipro\-ement 
and u])building during his management of 
the office. 

In 1898 the esteem in which he was held 
l)y bis fellow' citizens was shown by his elec- 
tion as their representati\'e to the forty-first 
general asseml>l\-. which niet in 1899. Dur- 
ing his term of service he was on tb.e import- 
aiit comniittees on banking, ])ublic build- 
ing-s and sanitar\- committees, fulfilling all 
the duties pertaining to these ])ulilic trusts 
with ability and efficiency. He has been 
sent as a delegate many times to conxen- 
tions. being some fi\e times a state delegate. 
His political record is an envial>Ie one, and 
he is well and thoroughly known through 
the county, bis public life having brought 
him into contact with the most of the prom- 
inent citizens oi the state. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



509 



Mr. Gasaway is also prominent in a 
number of fraternal orders, particularly the 
Masonic, and was raised in Lodge Xo. 521, 
A. F. & A. M., at Illiopolis, but dimitted 
and became a charter member of the Latham 
Lcxlge, Xo. 853. in 1898, and has been its 
treasurer ever since its inauguration. He 
took the degrees of Knight Templar and 
Ro}-al Arch at 3iIount Pulaski, X'^o. 39 and 
No. 121, respectively. He is also a charter 
member of the Knights of Pythias, of 
Latham, where he has passed all of the 
chairs, and he has been sent as a representa- 
tive to the grand lodge. 

Mr. Gasawa}' is one of the leading citi- 
zens of Latham, where his private, busi- 
ness and political life has redounded only 
to his credit, and no record of Logan county 
would be complete without a biographical 
mention of this representative citizen. 



}iIRS. MARGARET ELLIS. 

A representative social leader in the town 
of Lincoln, Mrs. Margaret Ellis is alsD a 
large property owner, and a business woman 
(if more tlian ordinary ability. The widow 
of X'icholas Ellis, remembered as one of the 
most substantial and successful of the ag- 
riculturists of Logan county, !Mrs. Ellis i^ 
the youngest child born in Europe to Jacob 
and Katherine Fuhs, who emigrated to 
America in 1856 with their four children. 
The children in the order of their births are ; 
Christ, who is now living about a mile and 
a half from Washington Heights, Cook 
county, Illinois: Emma, who resides on the 
home place in Cook county ; Mary, who is 
the wife of Frank Kieffer, and lives at Wash- 
ington Heights : Margaret, now Mrs. Ellis ; 
Charles F., who also lives at Washington 



Heights : and Joseph, who lives on the home 
place. 

Mrs. Ellis received excellent educational 
training in her youth, and in 1876 married 
X'icholas Ellis, a son of Martin E. Ellis, who 
emigrated from Germany with his wife and 
six children about 1856. Martin Ellis was 
one of the very early pioneers of Chicago 
and vicinity, and the first work in which he 
engaged after coming to Illinois was cutting 
logs from the present site of Chicago. Sub- 
sequently he worked as a farm hand on the 
prairies, a not too profitable undertaking, 
for when he arrived in Springfield with hi.s 
family he was the possessor of the inspiring 
sum of twenty-five cents. His wife seems 
to have imbibed the courageous and free 
spirit of the plains, for she put her shoulder 
to the wheel and worked with her husband 
in a hemp factory in Springfield. After a 
time the father Ijecame interested in a jxirk 
])acking concern in the town, and gradually 
made his way to the front, and in time 
owned consideral)le land in Logan county. 
As may be imagined, his son, Xicholas, was 
obliged to shift for himself at a very early 
age, and he fortunately possessed industry 
and application sufficient to overcome what- 
ever of discouragement or obstacles came his 
way. In the family, besides himself, were : 
Catlierine, who died in Broadwell township ; 
Mary, who was the wife of Frank Risley, 
and died in 1874; Fred. Christine, and 
Josephine, who all died in childhood. 

After her marriage ]\Irs. Ellis came to 
Logan county, where her husband bought a 
farm in Broadwell township, upon which 
they lived for about seventeen years. Mr. 
Ellis died on the home farm January 8, 
1894, after which Mrs. Ellis closed up her 
farming- interests and purchased a pleasant 
home at 515 X'^orth Logan street. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Ellis were born four cliildren, two 



5IO 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sons and two daughters, namely: John 
M., who was born February 17, 1883, and 
is living at home ; ]Mary. who was born Au- 
gust 25. 1885 : Susan J., who was born Sep- 
tember i8. 1S86: and Allen J., who was born 
August .V iSSS. The children are being ed- 
iicateil in the jiuljlic schools of Lincoln, and 
it is the intention of their mother to give 
them every opportunity in her power to im- 
prove their talents and general ability. The 
property of .Mrs. Ellis consists of one farm 
of four hundred and thirty-three acres in 
Broadwell townshii), and another farm of 
one hundred and forty-seven acres in the 
same township, and a farm of one hundred 
and twentv-three acres in Chester township. 
The farm i)roi)erty is all rented out to ten- 
ants. Mr. and ]\[rs. Ellis were among the 
earl\- communicants of St. Mary's Catholic 
church of Lincoln and assisted liberally in 
l)uilding both clun-ch edihces. 



.\MKS AVRES. 



James .\vres, a well-known retired farm- 
er of Mt. Pulaski, is a native of Ohio, born 
on a farm in Miami count)- Xovember 15, 
1834, and is a son of Darius antl Orpah 
( Rosebrough ) Ay res. The father was l)orn 
in Madison ciuinty. that state, in 1800, while 
tlie m( ther was l)orn in Kentucky in 1804. 
n^iiev were married in Hamilton county, 
(^hio, and later removed to Miami county, 
that state, where the father was engaged in 
general farming until his death in 1839.. 
The farm which he left to his widow was 
small, but it was all jjaid f<ir. In 1852 
she and her family came to Logan criunty, 
Illinois, and settled on a farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres three miles northeast 
of the \-illage of Mt. Pulaski, where she con- 



tinued to make her home throughout the re- 
maimler of her life. She li\-ed to rear her 
children and see them all comfortabl}' settled 
in life, and passed quietly awa_\- in 1891, 
at the ripe old age of eighty-six years, loved 
and respected by all who knew her. She 
h;id seven children who li\-e(l to be grown, 
namely; Richard F., deceased, who once 
ser\-ed as sheriff of Logan county : Mary, 
wife of J. C. Webster: Alfred, a resident of , 
Chestnut. Logan county: John R., a retired j| 
farmer of Mt. Pulaski: Susan, wife (jf 
Thomas S. Clark, of the state of W'ashing- 
tc n : James, our subject: and Rebecca, who 
married John H. Dement and both are now- 
deceased. 

y\v. Ayres. of this review-, spent the first 
seventeen years of liis life in his native state, 
and is indebted to its ilistrict schools for 
the greater part of his education. He at- 
tended a subscription school for one term 
after coining with the family to Illinois. 
Flis earl\- life was passed uixm the home 
farm and he assisted his mother in caring 
for the family. 

On October 17, 1883. Mr. .\\-res mar- 
ried Mrs. Christina Webster, of Logan coun- 
ty. Her first husliand, J. C. Webster, was 
an earlv resident of this count}-, haviiig lo- 
cated near Chestnut in 1849. He was a very 
])ri;n-iinent man and was elected circuit clerk 
of the ounty, to wliich office j-ie was subse- 
quently re-elected, serving in all eight years. 
Later he was elected as the first mayor of 
the city of Lincoln. He died leaving four 
children, nanieh- ; Fdmer L., who is now in 
the en-i]3lo\- of the government and is sta- 
tioned at I'ort Sheridan. Illinois: Estella, 
wife of (Seorge A. IMaxer, of Alount Pulaski ; 
.Mice, wife of W. C. Pur\-iance, of ]\Iount- 
Pulaski : and Josejjh C, a resident of Fulton 
count\-, Illinois. 

Mrs. .\vres is a native of Schoharie 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5n 



county. Xew York, and a daugliter of Henry 
I. Warner, wlio was born in the same state 
in i7q6 anil came to Illinois in 1857. locat- 
ing in Lincoln, where he made his Imme un- 
til his death, in 1884. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Margaret Becker, died 
in Lincoln in 1858, leaving five children; 
George and Da\ id, who are now deceased ; 
Mrs. I'^lorine Lawrence, a resident of Syra- 
cuse, Xew York : Mrs. .Sarah C. Jones, of 
Lincoln, Illinois: and Christina, wife of our 
subject. Fi\'e children died pre\-ii>us to the 
mother's death. 

After his marriage Mr. Ayres remained 
on the old homestead, ha\ing purchased the 
interests of the other heirs in the place, and 
to it he added a tract of forty acres, making- 
one liundretl and sixty acres in all. It is now 
under a high state of cultivation and im- 
jjrcjved with good and substantial buildings. 
Renting the farm in March, 1S93, Mr. A}-res 
removed to Mt. Pulaski, and has since lived 
a retired life, though he still hxiks after his 
property interests. While living in the coun- 
try he was a member of the school board for 
se\-eral years, and has always taken a deep 
and commendable interest in all enterprises 
calculated to advance the social, moral or 
material welfare of the community in which 
he lives. He is a man of the highest re- 
spectal)ility. and is well liked Ijy all who 

know him. 

■»—-*■ 

WILLIAM SH.\W DUNHAM. 

Prominent among the business men of 
Atlanta is William Shaw Dunham, who for 
(i\-er forty-five years has been closely identi- 
fied with the history of the city, while his 
name is inseiKirably cnnnected with its com- 
mercial and financial records. In business 
affairs he has been wonderfulh- successful. 



and is now president of the Atlanta National 
Bank, and one of the largest land owners in 
Logan county. 

Mr. Dunham was born in \\ ashington 
county, Ohio, September 28. 1827. and i.s 
one of a family of six children whose par- 
ents were William W. and ^lary G. ( Green) 
Dunham. Tiie father was a native of Eng- 
land, and came to the L'nited States with 
two brothers at an earlv day. Having 
learned the trade of a compositor and done 
considerable newspaper work in England, 
he immediately located in Providence, Rhode 
Island, on his arrival in this country, and be- 
came editor of the Pro\'idence Journal. 
After publishing that paper for several years 
he removed to Marietta, ^^'ashington coun- 
ty. Ohio, and assumed the editorship of the 
Marietta Gazette, carrying on that paper un- 
til two years before his death, when he came, 
in April, 183 1, to< Waynesville, DeWitt 
county, Illinois, where he purchased a farm 
and engaged in its operation until his death, 
in October, 1833. His wife survived him 
many years and died in August. 1877. 

Our subject was onl}- six years old at the 
time of his father's death, and as the family 
was left in limited circumstances he was 
forced to seek a livelihood for himself and 
mother at the age of twelve. As his time 
was then spent in following the plow, his 
education was necessarily limited. He fol- 
lowed farming until eighteen years of age, 
and was then liound <;iut bv iiis mother to 
A. B. Lewis as clerk in his dry-goods store 
at \\'aynesville. where he worked for three 
years, at a salary of five dollars per month 
the first year : second year, ten ; and the last 
year uas paid a salary of two hundred dol- 
lars. During that time he managed to save 
enough, with the assistance of his brother, 
to emljark in a similar enterprise with C. H. 
Ormsby. this partnership existing for two 



512 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years. He afterward took his two brothers 
in with him, the firm being known as J. P. 
Dunham & Company, and tliey carried on 
business together at Wa}-nesville for twelve 
years. 

In June, 1856, Mr. Dunliam came to At- 
lanta and opened a mercantile establishment 
under the name of Dunham &: IMaltby, which 
partnership continued until the fall of 1858, 
when he sold out and established another 
business, which he carried on alone. In 
1861 he formed a partnership with James 
Shores and Jaco1> Hawes. The latter sub- 
sefjuentlv sold out to W'illiani Milliner. This 
firm existed some eighteen years, but in 1879 
purchased the entire business and admitted 
his son to partnership, the firm having since 
been known as \\'. S. Dunham & Smi. The_\' 
enjoy an excellent trade and have one of 
tiie largest ckithing establishments in At- 
lanta. Mr. Dunham owns ten hundred and 
forty-two acres of valuable farming land, six 
hundred and forty acres of which adjoin 
the city of Atlanta, while the remaining 
four hundred and two acres are on the out- 
skirts of Pontiac. Besides this property he 
has considerable real estate in Atlanta, and 
has just completed one of the most hand- 
some and modern residences in the place, at 
a cost of seven thousand dollars. The plan 
was taken from a California mansion, and 
the work was carried on day by day under 
his watchful e\-e. the interior woodwork be- 
ing a piano finish. 

Mr. Dunham was first married, Novem- 
ber 5, 1851. ti) Miss Adeline Branson, of 
Sangamon countv. and tci them was liorn a 
son, William \\'.. wiio died in infancy. The 
wife died Alay 29, 1853. and was interred 
with her little child in the W'aynesville cem- 
etery. On the 5th of September, 1855, Air. 
Dunham was married to Miss Martha E. 
Harrison, a daughter of Dr. F. F. Harrison, 



of Waynesville. and they became the par- 
ents of five children, of whom Samuel C. 
ilied at the age of six years, and INIeneta E., 
an accomplished and highly educated young 
lady, died in her twenty-ninth year. The 
surviving children are Addie, now the wife 
of Thomas H. Slaughter, who conducts a 
musical conservatory in Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, and is a graduate of the same; Kate 
D., wife of Samuel K. Huston, an expert 
diamond cutter and jeweler of Chicago, Illi- 
nois ; and William S., Jr., general merchant 
of Atlanta. 

Mr. Dunham lias been a member of the 
Independent Order of Odtl Fellows since 
1848, and president of LTnion Hall Associa- 
tion of Atlanta. He cast his first presi- 
dential vote for General AA'infield Scott, the 
^^'llig candidate, and since the organization 
of the Republican party in 1856 has been 
one of its stanch supporters. He has been 
called upon to fill \-arious official positions 
of honor and trust, being a member of the 
state legislature in 1894, and serving on a 
number of the important committees, includ- 
ing that of state buildings, agriculture and 
banks. He was also on the committee that 
\isited all the state institutions. He served 
with distinction as mayor of the city, alder- 
man and trustee for one term each, and was 
president of the school board for three years. 
Owing to advancing years, he now de- 
clines all ]iolitical honors which the people 
would confer upon him, preferring tn spend 
his remaining days in ease and quiet. Mr. 
Dunham is noted for his liberality, giving 
generouslv at all times to any enterprise cal- 
culated to advance the interests of his fel- 
low citizens or promote the general welfare. 
His career has ever been such as to warrant 
the trust and confidence of the business 
ivorld, for he has ever conducted all trans- 
actions on the strictest principles of honor- 



i 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



513 



and integrity. His devotion to the public 
good is unquestioned and arises from a sin- 
cere interest in the welfare of his fellow- 
men. Religiously his wife is a member of 
the Methodist church, and they are people 
of prciminence in the cit\- which has so IcMig 
been their home. 



HUGH A. BIXXS. 



One of the leading business men of 
Middletown, Logan county, Illinois, who is 
prominently identiliefl with many business 
enterprises, is Hugh A. Binns. a descendant 
of an old English famil}' which located in 
Virginia at a very early day. He was born 
in Pike county, Ohio, January 30, 1855, and 
is a son of Lee Durhaui and Jane (Johns- 
ton) Binns, the fi^rmer nf whom was a na- 
tive of Virginia, and the latter of Pennsyl- 
vania, their marriage taking place in the 
state of Ohif). The father of our subject 
was a gallant srildier in the Union army 
during the Ci\il war, serxing for three years 
in the Xinety-tirst Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 
After the close of the war he returned to 
Ohio and engaged in farming there until 
1870, at that date moving to Logan coun- 
ty, Illinois, and locating on a farm in Cor- 
win tiiwnship. Until his death, .\ugust 11. 
1874, he followed farming and became a 
well-known and respected citizen of the com- 
munity. His widow survived until Decern 
her 31, 1900. passing out of life with the old 
year. Both were laid away in the Pleasant 
Valley cemetery, in Corwin township. Logan 
county. 

Hugii A. Binns is one in a family of 
seven cliildren, as follows : Phili]i, who 
married Molly Pittman, resides in X'ebraska; 
Johanna resided with her mother until her 



death : Susan, who married James K. War- 
ren, resides in ^^larion coimty, Kansas; 
Hugh A. is the subject of this sketch; Lee 
D., who married Rosie Martin, resides in 
Sheridan township on a farm ; James, who 
married Truda Worth, resides at Red Oak, 
Iowa, engaged in farming and cattle-rais- 
ing: and Charles, unmarried, resides in New 
Holland, Illinois, where he has lield the po- 
sition of cashier in the Merchant's Piank for 
the past eight _\ears. 

The educational opportunities afforded 
i;-/ur subject in his youth were limited to the 
seasons during the winters, as the summers 
were occupied in work on the farm, but un- 
td he was twenty years old he managed to 
pass a part of each winter in the district 
schools of the neighborhood, obtaining an- 
educatio!!. He came to Logan county, Illi- 
nois, with his parents, and was on the home 
farm until about i8c)3, when he purchased 
eighty acres of land in Corwin township, on 
section 6, living on section 5, on his mother' =1 
farm. This farm he still owns, as well as 
three shares in the home farm. 

Mr. Binns was married, Xovember it, 
1803. in Sheridan township, at the residence 
of his brother-in-law. to Miss Fannie 
Windle. who was Ijorn in 1865 in that town- 
ship, and is a daughter of Daniel and Han- 
nah ( Hagen ) \\'indle. Her father was a 
farmer of that place, but is now in York 
count)-. Nebraska. 

]\Irs. Binns is one of a family of five 
children born to her parents, namely : Doug- 
lass, Joseph, Clarence, Katie and Fannie. 

The children born to our subject and his 
w ife are Alildred. Howard, Alma and Hugh, 
the two eldest being in school. 

.\fter marriage Hugh A. Binns remained 
on the homestead farm and his mother 
moved into X'ew Holland. He had pur- 
chased all of the machinery, implements and 



514 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stock and cinitiiuied tlic (iperatiMii nf the 
farm for the foUdwinj^- twn years, removiui;- 
then to Xew Holland, where he engaged i'l 
the business of stock biixing fur a period of 
three years, coming then liack to the farm, 
where lie remained for two years more. Ho 
next mo\-eiI to Middlclown, where he 
opened up a grain luisiness and has pros- 
pered exceedingl}-. Mr. liinns owns eighty 
acres in Corwin townshi]). and a ]3art of the 
■old homestead, while he also owns in Kansis 
a tine property comprising two hundred and 
fort\- acres. For a numher of years he has 
been one of the stockholders in the (iernian 
American National Bank of Lincoln, Illi- 
nois, while he is socially connected with 
Camp .\o. 571,1. .M. W . A. A K'epiililica'.i 
in pc litics. he has been acti\e in the ranks of 
his jjartx' and is a \er\- efficient nienilier of 
the Middletown \ illage lioard. The relig- 
ious connectio.n of the family is with the 
JNIethodist church, where all are held in high 
esteem. 



D.VXIEL SHOCKEV. 

Among the soldiers of the Civil Avar 
w hi im it is our diUy and pleasiu'e to 
honor, none stand higher in his com- 
munity than Daniel Shockey. who re- 
sides on section IJ, Ihu'llnU townsliip. Lo- 
gan county. Ulincjis. ] Me was l>orn in 
Franklin, count}-. Pennsxivania, .March 10. 
1831. and is a son of John and Catherine 
( Mcinn ) Shockex", both of whom were na- 
tives of the same state as our subject. 

The ]5arents were married in Pennsyl- 
vania and lived there tuitil 1 85^:1, where the 
fa.ther operated a farm and raised sti.ick. 
but at that date the family removed to Flk- 
liart. Illinois. John Shocke\- i)urchased a 
great manv Mexican land warrants, and .at 



one time owned oxer four thousand acres 
of land, the greater part of xxhich x\as soiUh 
;md xxest of Elkhart, in Logan county, Illi- 
nois. He resided on the hill now occupied by 
"Mrs. John D. Gillette, and here he died in 
1838. his wife haxing died one x'ear jjrior to 
his tleath. He had refused to hold public of- 
tice, but took an actixe interest in all that 
])ertained to the advancement of the com- 
nuuiitx' in xxhich he lixed. In politics he 
Avas a Re'pul'.lican and he attentled the 
Dunkard church, of whicli his wife was a 
meml)er. He is remembered to this day as 
one of the most highly respected and public- 
S])irited men of that locality, and his death 
was nioin'ned as a public calamity. To 
himself and \xife xvere Ijorn seventeen chil- 
dren, as follows: John, xvho married Cath- 
erine lleck, and resides in Bates county, 
.Misscjuri; Daniel, our subject: Christopher, 
XX ho married a Miss Hooxer ami resides 
in JM-anklin county. Pennsylvania: Susan- 
nah, xvho married John Ueinhart and first 
resided in Illinois and then retin'ned to 
Pennsxixania : Jerry, who enlisted in Com- 
pany I, One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
X'ohuiteer Infantry, and died of fever xvhile 
in the serxice : Henr\-, who married Miss 
Susannah Shockey, deceased, noxv resides 
in Pennsylvania; Mary, who married John 
J. Moore and resides near Mount Pulaski, 
Illinois: Lvdia, xxho died at the age of se\-- 
enleen : and nine other children who died 
in childhood. 

Daniel Shockev had limited educational 
;,dxantages, but attended a district school in 
Franklin county. Pennsylvania, until he 
xvas nineteen during the xvinter and then as- 
sisted his father upon the farm luitil he was 
twentx-one. In 185.^ he came west to Il- 
linois and located in Logan county, xvhere 
he ])r<ispered and accumulated oxer three 
hundred acres of land. 




DANIEL SHOCKEY. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



517 



In March. 1861, Mr. Shucke}- was mar- 
ried at Lincoln. Illinois, to Mary Gelir, 
who was born in Fehruarw 1844. in Mary- 
land, and was tlie daughter of Ulrich and 
Sophia ( Young) Gehr. natives of Mary- 
land. The parents were married at Ring- 
goild, Alaryland. but came west in 1856 
and settled in Tazewell county, Illinois. 
Here the father purchased eighty acres. 
This he sold after a short residence in Taze- 
well county antl came to Logan county, 
where lie rented land for several years and 
then he bought a farm. Init later retirefl 
from acti\-e life. remo\ing' to I-~lkhart, Il- 
linois, where he resided until his death, 
\\liich occurred August 13. 1885, and his 
\vife died January 28. i88g. Three chil- 
dren were born to ]\lr. and Mrs. Gehr, 
as follows: ]Mary. who married our sub- 
ject ; Alartin, whii enlisted in Compan\' I, 
One Hundred and Sixth Illinois \'\)lunteer 
Infantry, and died at Little Rock, Arkan- 
sas, of fever contracted in the service: and 
Amanda, who married Charles Adams and 
resides in Elkhart, Illinois. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Shockey have been 
born a faniil}' of fi\-e children, as follows: 
Amanda, who married Patrick Brennan 
and resides in Hurlbut township, Logan 
county: Edward, who resides with his par- 
ents, and ]\[innie, who is the wife of J. C. 
Boyd, f)f Peoria, Illinois. 

On .\ugust 5, 1862, I\Ir. Shocke\- en- 
listed in Company I, One Hundred and 
Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Lin- 
coln. Illinois. His command was ordered to 
Jackson. Tennessee. Although the regi- 
ment was in several skimishes during the 
three years it ser\ed. none of the men jjar- 
tici])ated in any of the great battles, al- 
though they were often in the vicinity, do- 
ing skirmisli and guard duty and exhibit- 
ing as much bravery as those in the thick 



of the tight. On .\ugust 12. 1865, the 
regiiuent was mustered out at Pine Bluff, 
Arkansas, and honorably discharged at 
S]iringfield. Illinois, August 3, 1865. 

After the war was over Mr. Shockey 
returned to his home and faniih- antl en- 
gaged in farming, renting a farm the first 
year from John D. Gillette and afterwards 
of Judge Logan. For twelve years he rent- 
ed farms from several jiarties, and then he 
purchased eighty acres in Hurlbut town- 
ship. He is energetic, industrious and sav- 
ing and has been very successful and now 
owns three hundred and nineteen and one- 
half acres of line land all well cultivated, 
on which are good buildings and a comfort- 
able house. This has all lieen accumulated 
by Ml", and ]Mrs. ShockeV unaided, and is 
a strong object lesson to the younger gen- 
erations of what may be accomplished by 
a man of determined jiurpose and abilitv. 

In politics ]\Ir. Shockey is a Republican 
and ahva_\s supports the candidates of his 
party. Xaturally, as he is an old soldier, 
he is a member of the (irand Armv of the 
Republic and takes a deep interest in all 
its afl'airs. In this order, as throughout 
the comnumitv, he is well liked for 
his many excellent f|ualities and is just- 
ly regarded as one of the substantial luen 
of Loo-an countv. 



JOHX SHER^IAX .VLEX.WDER. 

John Sherman Alexander, proprietor of 
the livery stables and blacksmith shop at 
Latham, is one of the prosperous men of 
the village. He came here about 1887 from 
his native place in Clarke county, Ohio, 
where he was born August 2j, i86r. and 
reared to manhood. He is the son of Jesse 



5'! 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



C. and Hannah (Pullins) Alexander. The 
father was a contractor 1j_\- ( iccupation. 

The boylitKxl of our suljject was spent at 
Urbana, where he attended the pubHc 
schools. When he was seventeen the father 
died, and two years later our subject went 
to Spring-field, Ohio, where he learned the 
blacksmith's trade, serving a two-years' ap- 
prenticeship and receiving sixty dollars a 
year in payment f(.r his ser\-ices. He then 
went t(j Indiana and shod mules for a street 
car company, but after a few months he 
went to Springfield, Illinois, where for a 
few months he worked at his trade. The 
next calling he engaged in was that of 
farming, and worked l)y the month in Buf- 
falo Hart. Sangamon county. 

In 1887 Mr. Alexander remo\ed to 
Latham and worked in the blacksmith shop 
of which he is now proprietcjr. In time h'i 
purchased the business and continued it, al- 
though at first upon a small scale. As time 
progressed he steadily added to his appli- 
ances and enlarged his fields of operations 
until in i!^94 he Ijecame the owner of the 
adjoining lixery stables, and since then has 
also' added the handling of farm implements 
to his other extensive interests. In 1901 he 
organized the telephone system in Latham 
and now has in about seventy miles of wire 
and about one lumdred telephones — it being 
an indejicndent line that he owns. It con- 
nects with the Logan county line and is de- 
veloping business every clay. The success 
which has attended Mr. .Alexander's efforts 
is wonderful and in addition to his resi- 
dence and business property he is the owner 
of a business structure in the center of the 
town which he rents. 

On March 10. 1889. Air. .\lexander was 
married to Miss Mary E. Blackford, of 
Latham, a daughter of J. C. and Mary 
(Howe) Blackford. Three children have 



been born rf this union, namelv : Grace, 
Ethel and Lena. 

Mr. Alexander was reared a Republican 
and is still faithful to that party, and al- 
though he has never sought office he has 
served most acceptably as alderman several 
terms. He was made a member of Latham 
Lodge. Xo. 853, A. F. & A. M., and of the 
chapter and cmiiuandery. K. T., of ]\It. 
Pulaski. He was also made a member of 
the order of Odd Fellows at Barclay, Illi- 
nois, No. 550, and now holds membership- 
in the lodge at Mt. Pulaski. He is a mem- 
ber of Latham Lodge, No. 35, K. P., and' 
has filled all the chairs and attended the 
grand lodge as representative. Mr. and 
Mrs. .\lexander are members of the !\Ieth- 
odist Episcopal church. 

Few men ha\-e had their efforts crowned 
with success as has he, and no one deserves- 
n-iore [iraise for faithful labor iiitelligently 
a]>plied. He has numberless friends and his- 
future looks very bright and promising. 



JOSEPH T. WILLBANKS. 

One of the leading self-made men of Lo- 
gan county is Joseph T. Willbanks, who has- 
for a nun-iber of years been a leading repre- 
sentati\'e of the agricultural interests of 
Hurlbut township. Although he started out 
upon his business career without capital, de- 
pendent entirely upon his own resources, he 
has wdrkeil his way steadily upward, brook- 
ing no obstacles that could be overcome by 
persistent and honest purpose, and to-day 
he is the (wner of five hundred and seventy- 
acres of \-aluable farming land. 

I\Ir. Willbanks was torn in Jefferson- 
county. Illinois, Februar}- 10. 1829, a son of 
William and Ann ( AlcCann ) Willbanks.- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



519 



His paternal grandparents were Daniel and 
Jane (Thomas) Willbanks, who were mar- 
ried Julv 31, 1794. The former was born 
June 15, 1770, and the latter July 16, 1773. 
They had a large family of children, of 
whom the following record is preserved : 
John, born October 22, 1796, was shot at 
Union Court House, South Carolina, July 
28, 1835. Thomas, born December 11, i79iS, 
was drowned at St. Louis, Missouri, April 
II, 1830. James was born March ig, 1801, 
^^'illiam, the father of our subject, was the 
next of the family. David was born April 
6, 1805. Peggy, born October 2-j. 1808, was 
married, August 18, 1824, to James Black, 
and after his death was married, in Xovem- 
ber, 1837, to LTriah Compton, her death oc- 
curring in August, 1842, when she was 
thirty-si.K }'ears of age. Judith, born Au- 
gaist 8, 1813, became the wife of 1. S. Rob- 
inson, November 19, 1839, and died June 
18, 1848. Daniel, born ]\Iay 13, 1817. was 
married, about IMarch 7, 1841, to Margaret 
E. Campbell, and died at ^lemphis, about 
185 1. The father, Daniel Willbanks, Sr., 
died August 2-j, 1844. and his wife, Mrs. 
Jane Willbanks, died ALiy 7, 1S51, at the 
age of seventy-eight years. He conducted 
a tavern and postoffice on the stage route 
between Mt. Vernon and Shawneetown, was 
also the magistrate and county surveyor and 
the leading man of that section. The post- 
office was conducted by meml.iers of the 
\\'i]lbanks familv until President Lincoln's 
administration. 

\\'illiam Willbanks, the father of our 
subject, was born near Sparksburg, North 
Carolina. March 19. 1803, and after arriv- 
ing at years of maturity married Ann Mc- 
Cann. in March, 1823. She was a native of 
Sinclair county, Illinois, lx)rn within ele\-en 
miles of Lebanon. For many years tiie fa- 
ther engaged in farming in Jefferson coun- 



tv, Illinois, makino; his hcjme there until his 
death, which occurred in 185 1. In his po- 
litical atliliations he was a stanch Democrat. 
His wife surx'ived him until 1873. They 
were the parents of nine cliildren : Martha, 
the eldest, died at the age of eight years ; 
Margaret Jane became the wife of William 
Bartholomew and lived in the Indian Ter- 
ritory, Ijut died in Iowa ; Joseph is the .next 
younger; Sarah A. became the wife of Riley 
Knowles and died in Menard count}', and 
he is also deceased ; James B. is married and 
resides 'in the Indian Territory ; Hannah 
L. is the wife of \\'illiani Knowles, of Da- 
kota : Rachel, who died in Alton, Illinois, 
was three times married, to Martin Hale, 
Abraham Deck and Christopher Lehr, suc- 
cessi\"el\' : ]\Iarian became the wife of Daniel 
^^'agoner and died in Petersburg, Illinois, 
while his death occurred in Montgomery 
countv, this state; and Judith A. is the 
widow of ^^ illiam Lehr and resides near 
Seguin, Texas. 

Joseph T. Willbanks pursued his educa- 
tion in a little log schoolhouse which stood 
on the bank of a tiny stream of water in Jef- 
ferson county. The seats were split logs, 
placed upon wooden pins, and similar pins 
dri\-en into the v.all served to uphold a split- 
log which served as a writing desk. Later 
he attended school in a log house which was 
also used as a Presbyterian church. Rattle- 
snakes were quite numerous in the forests 
and all was wild and primitive. At the age 
of twenty }"ears he put aside his text-books, 
and for a year and a half he engaged in 
driving a team for his uncle, after which he 
returned to the homestead farm. He took 
up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres 
in Jefferson countv, and as a companion and 
helpmate for the jovu'ney of life chose Miss 
^lenesa Knowles, who was liorn in Gibson 
county, Indiana, ]\larch 24, 1833, a daugh- 



520 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ter (if Wiley and Minerva ( Scott) Knowles. 
On the ])aternal side lier ancestry can he 
traced hack to tlie early part of the seven- 
teenth century, when two men of the name 
of Knowles, probably brothers, came from 
England to America, settling first in Vir- 
ginia, and later removing to Delaware. One 
of these, Eddy Knowles, was the ancestor of 
Mrs. W illhanks. His son, Richard Knowles, 
was burn, lived and died in Delaware. He 
■\vas twice marrietl, and by his first union had, 
a son Eddy, who left Delaware in 1795 and 
settled in Greene county, Georgia, where he 
reared his family of ten children, including 
James Knowles, the great-grandfather n{ 
Mrs. \\'illl)anks. He was Ijorn in Delaware 
and was married there in 177S to Patience 
Marvel. They afterward removed to Greene 
county, Georgia, but not until after the birth 
of fi\-e of their children, the eldest being 
Prettyman Knowles, the grandfather. He 
married Patsy Greer, who was brought to 
America from Ireland when only a year old. 
They had ten children, the fourth being 
\\'ile\- Knowles, who was born April 25, 
i8og, and married Minerva Scott, a native 
of Kentuckv, by whom he had six sons and 
five daughters, among the number being the 
wife I if (nu' subject. She was born Marc'i 
24, 1833. in Gibson county, Indiana. Her 
parents had been married in that state, July 
28, 1830, and in 1845 they removed to Jef- 
ferson county, Illinois, where they spent 
their remaining days, the father dying 
.March 4, 180)3, in his eighty-fourth year, the 
mother February 10, 1899, at the age of 
eighty-seven. Their children were 'as fol- 
lows : William married Hannah Willbanks 
and resides in Dakota ; Mrs. Willbanks, of 
this review, is the next vounger ; Patsy is the 
wife i:f George Parish, of Oregon : ^lar- 
tin, of Jeffers(^n county, married .\lvira 
Kirk, and after her death wedded Ellen 



Jones; .\sa married Margaret Garner, now 
deceased, and resides in P'tah : Susannah 
died at the age of seventeen years ; .\nnanias 
married Harriet Smith and resides in JefYer- 
son countv ; Francis, who is living on the old 
homestead ten miles south of Mount Ver- 
non, Jefferson county, married Florence 
Smith, and after her death wedded Miss 
Pace; Leander, who married for his second 
wife .\manda ]\Iorgah, also lives in Jefifer- 
son county ; Sarah is the wife of Richard 
Davis, who is living near Spring Garden, 
Jefferson county: ^Nfalissa Caroline, now liv- 
ing in Wyoming, has lieen married suc- 
cessively to J. Gambrel, James Bascom and 
Dr. S. Miller, the physician of the state 
l^ienitentiarv of \\'voming, ha\'ing lost her 
first two husbands. 

The marriage of ]\lr. and Mrs. Will- 
banks, which occurred February 16, 185T, 
has been Ijlessed with ele\en children : Mary 
Evaline, born May 2, 1852, became the wife 
of James .\sh and died November 14. 1877. 
There were two children, the li\ing one be- 
ing Am\- 'SI., who resides with her grand- 
]iarents. ^^'illiam 1\.. born December it, 
1853. ''ied ]^Iarch 13, 1853. John ~Sl.. born 
December 13, 1855, married Grace Ellis, 
by \\hom he has four children, and resides 
in Springfield, Illinois. Robert L., born 
January 17, 1858, is with his ])arents. 
Stephen .\., born February 10, i860, re- 
sides on a farm in Menard county and mar- 
ried .\da Council, by whom he has four chil- 
dren. Francis .\.., liorn September 6, 1862, 
is at home. Charles B., liorn Febru;iry 8. 
1863, married Maggie Hammond, liy whom 
he has three children, and resides at Lake 
Fork. Logau county. Cornelia C, born 
Julv 8. 1867, is the wife of John Ferguson, 
by whom she has two children, and their 
home is southeast of Elkhart, Illinois. Jo- 
se]ih H., born January 2, 1870, and li\ing 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



52r 



southeast of Mount Pulaski, married Mer- 
clies Dean Gillespie, l>y whom he has two 
children. Wiley T., born March 27. 1872, 
died at the age of ten years. Alexander D., 
horn December 27. 187^, is now in the State 
Unix'ersitv of Wyoming. ]Mr. and Mrs. 
\\'illbanks celebrated their golden wedding 
February 16. i()oi.'at which was present 
their eight children. 

I'lir h\e \ears after his marriage Mr. 
\\'illl>anks carried on farming in Jefferson 
county and then remoxed tn Menard coun- 
tv. where he remained for four years, wheu 
he came to Hurllnit township, Logan coun- 
ty March 10, i860. Here he has since made 
his hi .-me. his time and attention l>eing gi\-en 
t(.i farming until of recent years, when he 
has turned (jyer the operation and manage- 
ment of his farm to his sons. He has pros- 
])ered in his undertakings and as his financial 
resources hax'e increased he has added to his 
jjroperty until he now owns h\e hundred 
and se\'cnt}- acres of \-alual)le land. He has 
refused to hold office, but is a stanch Dem- 
ocrat in politics and alwa)"s exercises his 
right of franchise in supp<.)rt of the men and 
measures of the jjarty. He and his famih 
attend the Presbyterian church. He is 
genial, jovial, kind-hearted and liberal, and 
has man\- warm friends. For more than se\- 
enty years he has tra\-eled life's journe\- 
and has always enjoyed and merited the re- 
spect and confiflence of those with whom he 
is associated, and can number his friends i'l 
Logan Count}" 1)\- the scores. 



JOHX C. THOMPSOX, Jr. 

Prominent among the successful, prci- 
gressive and scientific farmers of Logan 
county, Illinois, is John C. Thompson, Jr., 
who resides on a vahuible tract of one hun- 



dred and seventy-eight acres of land, lo- 
cated on section 15, Elkhart township. His 
birth occurred in Menard county, Illinois, 
August 13, 1855, and he is a son of John 
C. and Alalissa Jane (Wasson) Thompson, 
the former of whom was born Xo\ember 3, 
1825, in county Antrim. Ireland, and the 
latter in (ireene county, Illinijis, their mar- 
riage taking place in Jacksonville, this state. 

The father attended the schools in his 
nati\-e land, finishing his education after 
coming to the United States. In 1836 he set 
sail from Li\'erpool on a fine sailing x'essel 
bound fc;r America, and was six weeks on 
the water, encountering' sex'ere storms ot 
e\-er_\- kmd, and linally landing in Xew York. 
He went immeiliately to Bucks county,. 
Pennsylvania, where many of his country- 
men were emi)lo\ed. There he remained for 
some three years and then accom])anied his 
parents, George W. Thompson and wife, to- 
Scott county, Illinois. They l(x"ated near 
Manchester, where the father engaged in 
farming, imt he suryi\-ed the change of home 
but a short time, dying in a few years. The 
mother retained the farm and operatetl it 
with the assistance of her two sons, who re- 
mained with her as long as their services 
were needed. At the age of twenty-two 
years Mr. Jhomjison went to Menard coun- 
ty, Illinois, and during his residence there 
was married to Malissa Jane Wasson. 

F"olli)wing his marriage he continued to 
pursue farming in Menard countv. where 
he Ijought one hundred and sixt_\- acres of 
land, upon which he remained for eight 
years, renmying tlien to Logan county, Illi- 
nois, where he bought twoi hundred and 
eighty acres, and about 1867 his wife died 
on this farm, lea\ing eight small children. 
The father married for his second w ife ^le- 
lissa Whitehead, I)}' whom he had four chil- 
dren. He cijntinued his farming operations 



THE BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 



until about ten years ag;o, and tlien retired 
from active exertion, making his home with 
his son. liis namesake, and our subject. 

]\lr. Tliompson lias always supixirted the 
Republican party and has thoroughly be- 
lieved in its principles, but lie has never been 
willing- to hold political office. His religious 
connection has long been witli the Presby- 
terian church. Eight children were born to 
the i)arents of our suliject, as follows: 
Emma, deceased, who was the wife of Jo- 
seph \\'hitman. and resided in Iowa : \\'ill- 
iam. who married Minnie E. Duncan, and 
resides in Granada, Colorado ; George, who 
married Famiie Bullard, and resides in Syra- 
cuse, Hamilton county, Kansas ; J. C, of 
this sketch ; Henry, who died at the age of 
eighteen; Ella, who is the wife of Da\id 
Hax'ens, and resides in Mountain City, Ok- 
lahoma : Jennie, who married J. J. Thomp- 
son, and resides in Helena. Montana : antl 
Lucintla Belle, who married William Bus- 
ter, resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 
To the second union were born the following 
children : Thomas, whO' lives near Mattoon, 
Illinois; Amy Ann, wife of Meeker Shaw, 
of this county; La Fayette, also a resident 
of this county ; and Harrison, who is a resi- 
dent i>f Elkhart township. 

Jcihn C. Thompson, the subject of this 
biographv, attended schocd in the Rankin 
district in Logan county, and later em- 
braced the educational advantages offered 
in the Central Point school, in Oran town- 
ship, laying aside his school books at the age 
of seventeen years. Until he was twenty- 
one years of age he remained on the home 
farm, assisting- his father, and was then em- 
ployetl in the neig'hborhood b}' other farm- 
ers who desired a capable and willing em- 
ploye. One year was spent on a rented farm 
near Mason Citv, Illinois, and he then took 



charge of and for seven years operated the 
Boardman farm in Oran township. 

On August 13, 1882, at the home of 
John T. Fowler, Mr. Thompson \\as mar- 
ried to Miss Phebe Fowler, who was born 
in East Lincoln township May 30, 1865, and 
is a daug-hter of John T. Fowler and Sarah 
(Miller) Fowler, the former a native of 
Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania, 
and who were married in Lincoln, Illinois. 
With the exception of nine years passed in 
Kansas, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler spent their 
married li\-es in Logan county, Illinois, 
where he engaged in farming. After the, 
death of the mother of Mrs. Thompson, in 
1892, ]\[r. Fowler \vas again married, to 
Ruth Lay ton. and they now reside on a farm 
east of Lincoln. In politics Mr. Fowler is 
a Democrat and has long been connected 
with the Christian church, and with the In- 
dependent Order of Odd I-'ellows. 

Mrs. Thompson was one in a family of 
two children, her younger sister being Har- 
riet, who married Carl D. Shepler, and re- 
sides east of Lincoln. The following chil- 
dren surround the family hearth of \h'. and 
Mrs. Thompson, bright, intelligent and full 
of promise: Charles, born June 13, 1885; 
John, born Deceml>er 24, 1888; Goldie, born 
December 4, 1892; Grace, born December 9, 
1895; Hazel, born February 25, 1898; and 
Reuben, l)orn April 26, 1900. 

After his marriage our subject continued 
to operate the Boardman farm until the 
spring of 1900, when he purchased the irne 
esfate he now occupies, consisting of on? 
hundred and se\enty-eight acres in Elkhart 
township. Here he has demonstrated his 
ability as a good farmer and successful 
raiser of fine stock for market. He has 
made such excellent permanent improve- 
ments in the way of buildings, fences, etc., 



1 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



523 



as to place his farm in the tmnt rank amon;^ 
desirable ones in Logan county. 

I\Ir. Thompson is an ardent Republican, 
is fraternally connected \vith the Modern 
Woodmen, and both he and family belong 
to the Baptist church. His standing in the 
coninumity is high, and he well represents 
the honest and capable as well as substantial 
citizens of Logan county. 

JAMES A. GLENX. 

One of the prominent citizens of Logan 
county is James A. Glenn, a self-made man 
who started out in life with little ca])ital ex- 
cept health, energy and gcod habits, and is 
now reckoned among the substantial and re- 
sponsible men of this great county. 

The birth of ]\Ir. Glenn occurred in j\Iid- 
dletown. Illinois, July 28, 1845, and he is 
a son of David and Lucy (Church) Glenn, 
the former of whom was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, the latter of Massachusetts, and 
their marriage taking place in Bureau coun- 
ty, Illinois. David Glenn lived here with his 
parents, but later went to Bureau county to 
\vcirk in a store, and • it was during this 
peridd that he met the nmst estimable woman 
who later became his wife. After his mar- 
riage he brought his wife to ]\Iiddletown 
and embarked in th6 stcxrk and mercantile 
Ijusiness, and so continued until a short time 
previous to his death. His health had failed 
and his phvsician ordered a sea vijvage, and 
he had but started when death overtook 
him, in 1852, at Shippensburg. Pennsvl- 
vania. 

The mother married, in 1863, George 
Glenn, who was a brother to her first hus- 
band, and they resided here until his death, 
her own demise occurring in 1893. '^'"^ 
family was small, consisting of dur subject, 
one brother, Charles, who died in 1892, and 



a half-brother, Winfield. who resides in 
Chicago. 

Ihe bo\h(jod of our subject. James A. 
Glenn, was passed in attendance at school, 
in Corwin township, where he remained un- 
til he was fourteen years old, being then 
sent to Sangamon Academy, at Indian 
Point, for a period of two years, and later 
to the W'esleyan L'niversity, at Blooming- 
ton, for three years. 

After his school days ended and he was 
mentally e(piipped for almost any career, 
Mr. Glenn left ]\Iid(lletown and went to 
Mendota, Illinois, where he remained for 
two years, as a clerk in a mercantile busi- 
ness, returning then to Middletown and 
amid old surroundings embarked in a gen- 
eral merchandising. Bv the e.xercise of his 
excellent judgment, by unceasing industry 
and energy, as well as by his integrity in 
commercial life, ^Ir. Glenn succeeded and 
became the owner c:f the largest business in 
his line in the place, owning also extensive 
holdings of land, notably. live hundred and 
ninety-tive acres in Corwin township, on sec- 
tions 20, 21 and 28, and three hundred and 
twenty-five acres in Menard countv, se\en 
residence lots and two business lots in ]\Iid- 
dletown, besides several residences. His 
own beautiful home, supplied with all mod- 
ern conveniences, was built in 1894. After 
lieing in business longer than any other man 
in the \-illage he sold out on the ist of Oc- 
tober, 1901, and is now practicall}- li\'ing a 
retired life, though he still looks after his in- 
\estments. 

]Mr. Glenn was married, December 18, 
1873, in Menard county, to Zebella Rc^bbins, 
vvho was lx)rn in that county in June, 1853, 
and is a daughter of Edward and .\nna 
(Redsucker) Robbins, the former a nati\e 
of Holland, and the latter of Menard coun- 
tv. Mr. Robl>ins was a large farmer and 



524 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stock-raiser in Menard township, owning 
eight hundred acres of land there at the time 
of his death, in Se])teml)er. 1899. In pol- 
itics he was an acti\-e member of the Re- 
publican party, and was connected with the 
Catholic church. The mother oi Mrs. Glenn 
lives on the homestead farm in ]\Ienard coun- 
ty. Her children are : Susan, who married 
Edward Grimes, and resides in Arkansas 
City, Kansas; Zehella. the wife of ^Ir. 
Glenn: Sarah, who married John Kayler, 
-and lives on the homestead farm : and 
Georgia, who is the wife of Charles Spence 
and also resides on the iKimesteatl farm. 

The four children Ix rn ti> Mr. and Mrs. 
Glenn are as follows: Edward, born on 
March 8, 1875, '""' Anna, Ixirn on March 
-/• iS//- I'esitle at home: Edna. Ijorn nn 
August 17, 1880, married Z. W. (iraff, df 
Middletown, and has (ine son, — Glenn: and 
Paul, born on .\pril _' 1 . 1889, is at home. 

During his successful career in [Middle- 
town Mr. Glenn has taken a leading part in 
public affairs and has been called upon to fill 
many responsible positions. For a number 
of years he was clerk <<{ Cc.iruin township, 
and has been school treasurer fi;)r twel\-e 
years. In politics he is an actixe Republican. 
In e\-er\' position in life he has acquitted him- 
self with credit and no one in Logan count v 
is held in highier esteem. Mr. Glenn was 
made a Mason at Cjreenyiew Lodge, No. 
653, of Green\'iew, and both he and his wife 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, of which he is a liberal supporter. 



L\MF.S R. LOfiUE. 



The science of farming as understood 
and applied l)y Mr. Lngue constitutes a 
truly ideal and satisfacttory method of live- 
lihood. Robbed of the cruditv and inces- 



sant grintl of former days, farming now^ 
offers as large a scope for the exercise of 
large ability, financial and citherwise, as is to 
be found in nine-tenths of the occupations 
awaiting the enterj^rise and progress of lat- 
ter day brawn and brain. The fiingers of the 
wdrld ceaselesslv rest n])iin the pulse nf the 
farmer, and his success or failure is felt in 
e\-ery cnrner of the nnix'erse. It is there- 
fore fitting that men of culture anil under- 
standing should appl}- themselves to sys- 
tematize and simplifv methods of soil culti- 
NJition, and should ap])reciate to the full the 
I ippi irtunities b\' which thev are surnamd- 
cd. It is in this connection that Mr. Logue 
has attainetl to special prominence, and has 
tilled his large possessions after the most 
appro\ed and scientific methods. The farm 
which constitutes his home is on section if, 
Ihnilnit township, and contains two hun- 
dred and fortv acres, and he alsit owns 
eightx' acres in Menard county, and a half 
section of land near Curran, Sangamon 
coiuit}-, Illinois. In addition to a general 
farming industr\- he raises large numliers of 
fine stock for market purposes. 

The family of which Mr. Lfigue is a 
member came originalh- from Scotland, set- 
tling first in \'irginia and later in I'ennes- 
see. lie was born in Wilson county, Ten- 
nessee, Xo\ember 6, 1856, a son of 'l'a])ley 
G. and Xancy li. (Bass) Logue, natives of 
the same count}'. The father was engaged 
in the t.anning Imsiness through his active 
life, although the last few years were spent 
on the farm in partial retirement in his na- 
tive state up to the time of his death, July 
28. 1882. He was a Democrat in politics, 
and an Odd Fellow, anil a devout member of 
the Cumberland I'reslnterian church. His 
wife died February 12. 1890, and l)oth par- 
ents are buried in Tennessee, E!e\-en chil- 
dren were Ixjrn into the familv : Emma. 




J. R. LOGUE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



527 



wlin is the wife nf Sanuiel Jennings, de- 
ceased, and will I lives in Tennessee; Ten- 
nessee, who is the wife of J. T. May, of 
Wichita, Kansas; J. C, who married Lucy 
Carver and lives in Wilson county, Ten- 
nessee: Lucv A., wlio is the wife of \\ illiam 
Thompson, of Tennessee; Ellen, now de- 
ceased, who married James Omohundro, of 
Tennessee; T. G., Jr., who married Maggie 
Davis, and lives at Waxahatchie. Texas : 
Catherine, who is married to Thomas 
Wright, of Tennessee: Rohert H., who n.iar- 
riecl ^liss Sullivan, of 'I'ennessee; h'rank L.. 
who married ^liss Cantrell and lives in Ten- 
nessee: Mattie, who is the wife of Samuel 
Adkerson, of Tennessee; and James R., our 
suhject. 

I'ntil his fourteenth year Mr. Logue at- 
tended the pnl)lic schools of Wilson county, 
'J'ennessee, after whicli he stuched at the 
public schools of Franklin, Tennessee, still 
later entering the Pleasant Hill Academy, 
supplemented hy a year at the Cumberland 
L'ni\ersity, of Lebanon. Tennessee, one of 
the finest schools of the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian church. Coming to Lincoln. Illi- 
ncjis, in December. 1878, and entering the 
uni\ersit\- at' that ])lace, he was graduated 
with the degree of Ph. 1>. in June of 1881, 
and following this returned to his southern 
home for a few months, after which he i)er- 
manently located in Ihnibut townslii]). 
Logan county. Illinois. 

On December jr. 1881. in that township, 
he married Effie M. King, who was born ou 
the farm u])on which Mr. Logue is now li\- 
ing, March 31, 1864. Her father, J. Cooley 
King, was born in Ohio, and her mother, 
Letitia (Kagle) King, was born in Illinois. 
The ])arents were married in Menard county, 
Illinois, and engaged in farming, finallv re- 
moving to the farm now owned and occupied 
by their son-in-law, Mr. Logue. Mr. King 

28 



retired from active life in Xovember, 1899, 
and located in Springfield, wdiere his death 
occurred March 28, 1901. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Logue have been born three children : Hat- 
tie, born July 4, 1883; J. Homer, born De- 
cember 21. 1891 ; and Florence AI., lx)rn 
February 22, 1895. In political afifiliation 
Mr. Logue is a Democrat, and is at present 
township school treasurer, the township hav- 
ing a fund of eighteen thousand, nine hun- 
dred dollars, tiie second largest in the state. 
He is fraternally associated with the Elkhart 
Camp. .M. W. .\., and the Elkhart Court of 
Honor. He is an attendant at the Presby- 
terian church. 

Mr. Logue taught school for three years 
in his, township, after which he engaged irk 
farming with marked success. He repre- 
sented his township as supervist)r from 1897 
till 1901. and was for three years on the 
judiciary n imnn'Uee, of which he was f(jr one 
yeru" chairman, this being the lea<ling' com- 
mittee. Jle was also chairman of fees and 
salarv committee for two vears. 



AUGUST F. REITERMAN. 

One of the prosperous and influentiar 
farmers of Lake Fork township is August' 
]•. Reitennan. who resides on section 8. He 
was born in the village of Waverly, Pike' 
county, Ohio, August 16, 1844, and is a 
son of Adam and Barbara (Shultz) Reiter- 
man. The father later removed to a farm in 
Pike county and August's boyhood was de- 
voted to agricultural work. His father died 
when he \vas about four years old and he- 
worked for his mother until he was about 
twenty-one years of age. At this time he 
was married, December 7, 1865, to Mis.-; 
Medora Newcomer, who was born in Green- 



528 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



l.irier county. West \'irginia, and was but 
three years olil when she was taken by her 
jjarents to Pike county. Oliio, where slie re- 
ceived l:)ut a common-school etkication. For 
a few years after tlieir marriage ]\Ir. and 
Mrs. Reiternian li\ed upnn his mother's 
farm, but in 1869 they removed to Logan 
county, llhnois, and for some time they hve;l 
near Lincohi. They then settled upon their 
present farm, w here they have a very pleas- 
ant home. 

The children born to Mv. and IMrs. Reit- 
ernian who are still living are as follows : 
William H., who was in California when 
last heard from : Oscar, who lives in Lake 
Fork township; Mrs. Armina Poe. of Cal- 
houn county, Ljwa : ]\Irs. }ilalinda Bicknell, 
of Lake Fork township ; Carrie, who is at 
home; and Albert, who was born August 
17, 1888. 

Mr. Reiternian is a Deniocrai and has 
iieen commissioner of Lake Fork townshii) 
three terms, and while on the board a num- 
ber of the excellent bridges and roads in the 
township were built. He is a man of prom- 
inence in the community and his influence is 
always e.xerted towards the betterment of 
the condition of the people and the improve- 
ment of the existing conditions. 



ALBERT OUISENBERRY. 

Albert Quisenberry. one of the most 
progressive and industrious farmers of Lo- 
gan county, as well as one of its oldest li\- 
ing pioneers, has made his home in this lo- 
cality for two-thirds of a centur\-, and has 
l)een an important factor in its de\elopnient 
and jirosperity. He was born in Christian, 
county, Kentucky, on the 2d of June, 1828, 
a son of Edward S. and Nancy (Thorough- 



kill ) (Juisenberrv, who were Virginians liy 
birth. The mr.ther died when our subject |i 
was only two years old and the father sub- 
Sfi|uently married again, his second union 
being with Miss Lucy Clayton. Imme- 
diately after the death of his first wife he U 
removed to Kentucky, and in 1835 came to 
Illinois. He made his home in Tazewell 
county for sixteen or seventeen years, when 
he took up his resilience in Eminence town- 
ship, Logan county, where he lived until his 
death, which occurred in 1864. He left a 
widow and se\en children to nnxirn his loss. 
Ill early life he was a Baptist in religious 
lielief. but later joined the Presbyterian 
church, and was an active member of the 
same tliroi;gliout the remainder of his life. 
In politics he was a Republican. 

The subject of this review l^egan his ed- 
ucation in the common schools of his native 
state. Init at the age of seven years came 
with his father to this state and settled in 
Hittles Grove. The journey was made in a 
cart, and during the entire distance of four 
hundred miles tliev saw not a sine'le bridge, 
all streams being crossed by ford or ferry. 
They found this section of the state almost 
an unbroken wilderness, few settlements 
ha\-ing Ijeen made, and wild game of ail 
kinds was plentiful. \\'olf and deer hunt- 
ing was then a common thing, and notices of 
these hunts would be gi\en out from the pul- 
pit two months in ad\-ance. lliev were well 
advertised in Bloomington and Lincoln as 
well as ill the immediate locality and were 
attendetl regularly h\ two or three thousand 
people, who would close in around a circle 
a mile in tliameter, with as many as one hun- 
dred hunters chasing the deer. Often so 
many deer were killed it was hard to give 
away the meat, A-enison being so very com- 
mon at that time. The hide was then the 
only valuable part of the animal. It was the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



529 



regular custom ou occasion of a hunt to hoist 
a flag- on a pole to designate the meeting 
place. In his younger days ]\lr. Ouisenherr\- 
^\•as an expert hunter, and has hrought down 
many a deer with his trusted rifle. 

He completed his education in this state, 
conning his lessons in an old-fashioned log- 
school house A\ ith its primitive furniture. 
On reaching manhood he was gi^•en one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land by his father, 
who owned ahout two thousand acres and 
gave to each of his children a cpiarter-sectioii 
of land. In the family were nineteen chil- 
dren, eight of vvhom still survive. In his 
farming operations Albert Ouisenberry 
steadily prospered, and is to-day the owner 
■of one hundred and si.xty acres of valuable 
and highly productive land in Eminence 
township, his home being on section 4. He 
is considered one 01 the best farmers, as well 
as one of the most reliable men of his com- 
munity. 

On the 27th of February, 1851, Mr. 
Ouisenberry was united in marriage with 
Miss Polly Allen, who was born in Ohio, 
of which state her father, A. W. Allen, was 
also a nati\-e. Of the five children born of 
this union, two died in infancy. Those li\-- 
ing are Herman E. and Raymond F., twins, 
and ^^'illiam S. Raymond F. is now assist- 
ant cashier of the Peoples Bank of .\tlanta. 
The family hold membership in the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian church, and our subject 
affiliates with the Repulilican party. He has 
never cared for political office, desiring 
rather to^ give hi.s entire time and attention 
to his farming interests. In the summer 
of 1901 he met with a very painful accident, 
breaking three ribs. He had previously 
broken his ankle while in the woods. As 
one of the honored pioneers and representa- 
tive citizeiis he is deserving of prominent 
mention in the history of his adopted countv. 



GEORGE T. RAYBURN. 

Among the bighl}- esteemed and much 
res]-)ected retired farmers of Logan county, 
Illinois, is George T. Rayburn, at present a 
resident of Middletown, where he is sur- 
rounded by every comfort, and is the center 
of devoted family affection. 

The birth of Mr. Rayburn occurred in 
Menard county, Illinois, November 21, 
1835, and he is a son of Joseph H. and 
Rachel (Bird) Rayburn, both of whom were 
natives of the state of Kentucky, their mar- 
riage taking place in Adair county, that 
state, where Mr. Rayburn carried on agri- 
cultural operations. Some time after 1820 
the family removed to Illinois and settled on 
Baker's Prairie, near Petersburg, where they 
remained for one year, and then came into 
Logan county, locating three miles east of 
]\Iiddletown, changing at a later date to a 
farm one mile south of the town, and re- 
maining there until the death of the parents. 

Seven children were born to these most 
estimable old settlers of this county, some 
of them having passed away, the others be- 
ing among the most respected residents of 
their localities. The family names and 
residences are as follows: Ann H., who 
married Henry Snyder, is dead, as is also 
her husband, and thev were residents of Lo- 
gan county; William J. married Eliza Jane 
Baxter, now deceased, and the}' resided in 
Oregon ; Logan B. married Martha E. 
Boyce, both of whom are deceased, and they 
lived in Middletown: John M. is the next 
of the family; Malvina J. died at the age 
of four years; G. T. is our subject; and 
^largaret S. is a resident of Middletown. 

During his youth until he was twenty- 
one years of age our subject attended the 
scIkjoIs of his locality, and engaged in farm- 
ino- i)n the homestead farm until he was 



530 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RF.CORD. 



thiii\- \oars old, at which time ho was united 
in nuirrias;e. in l'\'hrnary, 18(1.4, to .Miss 
Mary I"'. Kclsev. wlio was luirn in ( )iiio in 
1836. .She was a daughter of Jon.as and 
l<'.lizaheth (Martin) Kelse\ , the lorniev a 
nali\e of Oliio, and the latter of Xew ^■ork. 
Their children were as follows: Sarah, 
married l);niiel (."onklin. deceased, the wid- 
ow now resides at C'erro (iordo, Illinois: 
Daniel, deceased, was ni;n-ricd : Jemima, un- 
married, resides en the homestead larm: 
Ransom P., who married Louisa Hunt, re- 
sides in Sterliui;-. Kansas: and Annis, win 
married I'liili]) (."ar\er, resides at Decatur. 
Illinois. 

After marriaq'e om" suhject and wile 
settled down on the old homestead f.ai'ni 
where thev lived until iS()3, when Mr. l\a\- 
hnrn nuwed into Middlctown and has since 
then resided in this pleasant little city, re- 
tired fnnii husiness activity, hut prominent 
in social and religitiis circles. I le owns 
some of the most desirahle: paMperty in 
Logan county, his land in Corwin township 
l>eing- aeceiited as sinne of the most \ ;ilu:ihle 
in this section of the state, and here he has 
(lie hnndred and lifty-live acres, on section 
i<). ami he also is the owner of one lunulred 
and litty-six am! one-half acres in Menard 
coiint\. all of which is well imiiroved and 
under a iine state of cultivation. 

.Mthoiis^h Mr. Ivayhurn has never heen 
willing to accept puh.lic olVice. he is an active 
and ardent Ivepubhcan, and much interested 
in the success of his p:u't\. I'raternally he 
is a member of Myrtle l.( dge Xo. 470. 1. (). 
O. v.. of .Middletown, with which he has 
been connected for many years, w bile he has 
long been a leailing member of the Cuiii- 
l>erlaml Rresliyterian eburcb. to which he is 
a lilK'ral snptiorter. 

The children liorii to Mr. and Mrs. Ray- 
]>urn are .amc no- the most estim.able ;md re- 



spected citizens of I .og.-m countx' ;ind all are 
located ue.ar their p.areuls, the gr.andcbildren 
growing 11]! almost under their e\es, m.aking 
ple;is;uit their ad\anciiig years. The chil- 
dren areas lollows: Ivlward 1'"., who mar- 
ried Mai'y 1''.. Renb, and the\ with their two 
ciiildren, reside on the old homestead farm: 
1 K'o ].. who married h'.tbel Masters, resides 
on the olil homestead also, in Menard coun- 
ty, with two children: ;nid Arthur 11., who 
married l.i/.zie Jacobs, resides in t.'orw in 
townshp, Logan county, with two chiUlern. 
.Mr. Rayburn is well and f:i\drabl\ known in 
this \icinily .and enjoys the highest esteem 
o| the residents of .Middletown. 



K )1 



;ss()K (.'. s. ix.i.i'Ah: 



rile biological department of Lincoln 
(.'ollege is ]iresided i \-er b_\- a man who i.s 
well prepareil tor his work, so' well in fact 
that in schools of the same size or e\eii 
larger iustitntions we seldom lind men bet- 
ter litleil for their position than Professor 
(A S. Oglex'ee, wIki is now professor of nat- 
ural science in Lincoln College. 

He w.'is 111 iru ill 1 )ickerson Run. Lenn- 
sylvania, and began his ctvUegiale edncatioir 
at \\'aynesburg- College in that state. After 
ha\iiig attended there t'or a short time he 
came to Lincoln l'ni\-ersity, now Lincoln 
College of the James Millikeu Cniversity,' 
Lincoln, llliiic is. where he linished the scien- 
tific .course ill iS()4. l)uring his collegiate 
course he showed a tendencv to m.ake iiiolo- 
gy and botany a special stud}-, and as a re- 
ward for efficient work in this line he was 
added ti; the Lincoln L'niversity faculty in 
the fall of iS()4. 

1 during the following summer he spent 
some time taking a si>ecial bioUngical com'se 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



531 



at Wofxl's Hole, Massacliusetts. He also 
s])eiU the summer of 1896 at the state l)io- 
logicai exix;t"imeiit station at Havana, Illi- 
nois, thus letting no chance of advancement 
in this line ]>ass. He is now after a fen- 
years of experience in teaching fast l>ecom- 
ing an authority. 

Besides being efificient in his special line. 
Professor Oglevee is also a fine singer, hav- 
ing a l)ass voice of great power and was 
for a time the director of the choir of the 
First Cumberlanfl Presbyterian Church of 
Lincoln. 



HARIJV COUNCIL. 

Among tlie farmers of Logan county 
Mr. Council takes high rank, and is credited 
with conducting his general farming and 
stock raising after the most scientific and a\>- 
proved methods. He was bfjrn in Sanga- 
mon county, Illinois, Janviary 24, 1859, and 
his parents, John H. and Edna (Lake) Coun- 
cil, who were Ixjrn respectively May 19, 
1822. and June 9, 1831, were also natives of 
Sangamon county. The parents, who are the 
(.'wmers of fourteen hundred acres of land 
nine miles north of Springfield, one th.ni- 
sand of which have Ijeen divided among his 
children, are now living a retired life, and 
are enjoying a deserved leisure. To them 
has been born four sons and one daughter, 
namely: Hardy; Charles, who married Au- 
gusta Jones, of Fancy Prairie, Illinois, and 
is now Jiving at Springfield ; George, who 
married Mary Carj^enter, of Sherman, 
Sangamon county, and resides in Hurlbut 
township. Logan county ; William, the twin 
brother of George, who lives on the home- 
stead ; and Anna Florence, who is the wife 
of Ciiarles Cantrall, and lives at Athens, 
^lenard county, Illinois. 

Of ambiti<xis nature. Hardy Council ap- 



plierl himself diligently to acquiring such 
knowledge as was obtainable at the public 
schools of Sangamon county, his tuition Ije- 
ing interspersed with hard work f>n the 
home farm. Two years after he quit schofjl 
he came to Hurlbut township and assumed 
charge of the farm which he now owns, 
and which contains two hundred and sixty 
acres, l>esides which he rents the adjoining 
sixty acres Ijelonging to his father. He is one 
of the most successful farmers of the neigh- 
borhood, and his land is cultivated to the 
highest possible e.vtent. He has a fine rural 
h'^me, gfxxl barns aud outhmises, and nifxl- 
ern and conveniait machinery. The greater 
part of his land is devoted to the stock rais- 
ing business, although he raises grains and 
general farm prrxluce. He is interested in 
general public afifairs, and anything ad- 
vanced for the u])building of the Uxrality 
may Ije sure of his ardent support and cf»-op- 
eration. He is a Republican in natif^^nal 
politics, is fraternally assfx:iated with the 
Modern WVxxlmen of America, Camp Xo. 
51, and he and his wife are members of the 
Christian church. 

On ]3ecember 5, 1883, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Council anfl Julia .Ann Can- 
trail, who was born near Cantrall, Illinois, 
April II, i860, daughter of Joshua L., son 
of Levi, who was born July 28, 1828, and 
Rel)ecca ( Hedrick) Cantrall, who was 
born October 5, 1828, in Kentucky. The 
parents were married in Sangamon cfAinty, 
Illinois, and in 1864 removed to Sigoumey, 
Iowa, returning to Illinois in 1866, where 
they purchased a farm one and a half 
miles west of Illiopolis, and where the 
father died March 17, 1882. He was 
a charter meml^r of the Illioix^lis I^xlge, 
Xo. 521, A. F. & A. M. An elder 
in the Christian church for more than fif- 
teen vears, he also e.xerted a wide moral 



532 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



influence as a temperance advocate. His 
wife, wlio is now a resident of lUiopolis, is 
the mother of tliirteen children : LaFay- 
ette, hum January i6, 1849, mai'fied Gus- 
sie Chambers July 23, 1874, tiie latter born 
April I, 1856, and they live near Illiopolis, 
Illinois. Fannie C. born Sq>tember 9, 
1850. married B. F. Capps, August 12, 
i860. 'I'ld she was killed by a horse Octo- 
ber 8, 1869. Carlysle, born ^lay 26, 1852, 
married Alice Ina King, October 12, 1876, 
his wife having been born December 3, 1853. 
They ha\e one child, Macie, born October 

12, 1877, a graduate of the College of Music 
at Jacksonxille in the class of 1896. Charles, 
born December 2^, 1853, died in infancy. 
Barton R., born April 26, 1856, lives with 
his mother. Parthena, born May 30, 1858, 
died in infancy. Julia, lidrn .\pril 11, i8fio, 
married Hardy Council. McDonald C 
born January i, 1862, lives with his mother. 
Laura E., born June 3, 1864. married Jusiah 
Todd, March 22. 1883, and has one child, 
Fred, who was born May 24, 1884. After 
her husband's death, March 10, 1884, she 
married Erastus Dickerson, January 2, 
1886, and they ha\-e two children, Amanda 
and Rebecca Blanch. Clara P., born Sep- 
tember 8, 1866, married Charles J. Camp- 
bell, December 5, 1888, who was Ijorn ^larch 
29, 1839. Their children are Owen Henry, 
who was born Se])tember 12, 1889, and 
Helen, who was born September 16, 1895. 
Levi, burn Ajiril 20, 1868, married Eva 
Cohin. July 20, 1892, his wife having Ijeen 
born March 16, 1872, and their child, Leah, 
was born July 16, 1893, and died July 25, 

1894. Benjamin F., born .-Vugust 25, 1870, 
married Fannie Burch Adams, January 8, 

1895, the latter having been born January 
~7> ^^73- They have one child, Grace, who 
was l)orn .\pril 2, 1897. Jennie, l.xirn June 

13, 1872, (lieil in infancy. 



The Cantrall family is of Welsh, Scotch 
and Irish e.xtraction, the first representative 
in America being Zebulon Cantrall, who 
emigrated fmm \\'ales in 1700, and, it is 
claimed, built the first brick house in Phila- 
delphia. L. Cantrall was born in Vir- 
ginia, October i, 1787, and was a son of 
Joshua, \\lu> served with courage and dis- 
tinction in the Revolutionary war, and re- 
moved from Virginia to Kentucky about 
1789. To Mr. and Mrs. Council have been 
born four children, namely: John Russell, 
born April 2, 1885 : Hardy E., May 4, 1890; 
LaFayette McD.. July 27, 1892; and Clara 
Florence, December, 1893. ]Mr. Council is 
active in the Christian church, of which he 

is a trustee. 

< » » 

\vii,t.ta:\[ uhle. 

This well kmwn and highly esteemed 
citizen of Mt. Pula.ski was fur many years 
])rominently identified with the argricultural 
interests of this county, but is now living a 
retired life, enjoying a well earned rest and 
the prosperity which should always attend 
hcnest effort in the line of one's chosen call- 
ing. .\ native of Germany, Mr. Uhle was 
Ijr.rn in the cit_\- of Ziegenrueck. Thuering- 
en, Prussia, February 7, 1837, and is a son 
of Carl Frederick and Rosine Fredericka 
Magdalene (Vollrath) Uhle. The father 
was born in the same place, and was one of 
a family of seven children, while the mother 
was the only child of her ])arents. Through- 
ouji life the father worked a>t the black- 
smith's trade, and he owned a nice home 
with nine acres adjoining the city of Ziegen- 
rueck, where he ccntinued to reside until 
death claimed him. He was then over eighty 
\ears of age, as were also both grandfathers 
of our subject when called to their final rest. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



533 



Tlie tatlier had three cliildren. Of these 
Carl Freihnc was a blacksmith by trade and 
was a suldier of the war of 1S48. He came 
into possession of the cvld homestead, whicii 
since his death has become the projjertv of 
one of his children, ^\'ilhelmina, the nn'.v 
sister of onr subject, married Heinrich Lind 
and is now deceased. 

Dnring- his boyhoDtl and )outli William 
Uhle recoived a goixl practical education 
in the scbo<jls of his native land. ;uid with 
his father learned the blacksmith's trade, at 
which he worked until coming to .\merica. 
On the 8th of March. 1857. he was united 
in marriage with ]\Iiss \\'ilhelmina Frieder- 
icke Noethlich, who was born August i). 
1836, in Ranes, a city about two German 
miles from his- birthplace. Being left an 
orphan ;it an early age, she was reared \)y 
an uncle until fourteen, and then supported 
herself until her marriage. 

On the nth of [March, 1S57, Mr. Uhle 
and bis bride sailed for the new wnrld (<u ;i 
sailing vessel, and landed in lialtimdre, 
Maryland, on the 2nd of May. They pro- 
ceeded at once to this sectii n of Illinois, 
and l)eing in ill health, Mr. Uhle nio\ed to 
'Mt. Pulaski in the fall of that year. There 
he spent fourteen months working at auv- 
tbing which be was able tn dn. and enduring 
ni;in_\- hardships and j^rivations. Returning 
to Laenna township at the end of that time, 
be worked as a farm band bv the month 
during the summer seas(in for two vears, 
and at \'arious other nccupations the remain- 
der of the time. lie ne.xt rented a small 
farm, which he operated until 1863. when be 
])urchased sixty acres of land for two thous- 
and dollars, and during the succeeding vears 
as be prospered in bis farming operations 
be has added to bis property from time to 
time until he now owns si.v luuidrfil and 
eighty acres of valuable land in Laenna 



township, besides twenty acres within the 
city limits of 3ilt. Pulaski. He has always 
given considerable attention to the raising 
of stock, and was one of the incorporators 
of the First Xational liank of Mt. Pula.ski. 
He continued to activelv engage in farmina" 
until October 2. 1890. since which time he 
has practically lived retired on account of 
partial paralysis of one foot. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Uhle were born 
eight children, namely : Theresa died at the 
age of fourteen months; Katherine Henri- 
etta, born May 6, 1859, is the wife <.f Rev. 
V. E. Roth, of Pevely, Missouri; Mary, 
born January lo, 18(12. died at the age of 
twenty-six years; Henry J., born [uly 31, 
i8r)4, was educated for the Lutheran minis- 
try, ser\-ed as pastor of the church at Pom- 
eroy, Ohio, nine years, and is now holding 
a similar position at Shiloh Hill, Randolpli 
county, Illinois; Nettie Christine is the wife 
of Charles A\'ehner, who lives on our sub- 
ject's land in Laenna township; j\nnie Fred- 
ericka, born April 15. 1868. is now a resi- 
dent of Chicago ; Rosa ilargaretta, born De- 
cember 17. 1S70. died at the age of twentv- 
six years; and Frederick, born June 16, 
1874. is a well educated young man residing 
at hijme, and has made a .special tv of pen- 
manship. .\11 of the children were baptized 
ill the First Lutheran church of Mount 
Pulaski. The wife and mother died Janu- 
ary 29, 1 89 1, and ]\Ir. Uhle was again mar- 
ried, December 26, 1899. bis second union 
being with Magdalina Benzinger. who was 
Iwrn in Kirchberg, Oberamt IMarbacb, A\'ur- 
temberg. Clermany. August 16. 1858. and 
came to the United States in July, 1889. 

On the i8th of April, i8f)4, Mr. Uhle 
took out his naturalization papers, which 
\rere recorded in the county court at Lin- 
coln. He and his hrst \\ife were among- 
the earliest members of the Lutheran churcli 



534 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of jNIount I'ulaski, and assisted liberally ac- 
cording to their means in building both the 
first church and parsonage and also the later 
structures. ]\Ir. Uhle has served as elder 
of the church, and his upright, honorable 
course in life has ever commended him to 
the confidence and respect of all with whom 
he has been lirdiight in contact. 



T. T. CHEST.XUT. 



T. J. Chestnut, Ijetter known as "Jeft"" 
and one cif the early settlers of this county, 
where he has made his home since 1852, is 
a son of Alexander and Alary ( AlcCollister ) 
Chestnut. l)i)th nati\-es of Ross county, Ohio. 
The father was a farmer of that locality and 
resided tliere until 1849, when he moved tu 
Christian couiUy. Illinnis, and bought a 
farm, li\ing there until 1832. He then 
came to Logan cnuntv antl settled in the 
southwest ciirner of I'rairie Creek tL)wn- 
ship and purchased a farm of foiu' hundred 
and f()rt\--six acres. This he improved and 
lived upon luitil ]S(hj. when he remo\'ed to 
Morgan county. Illinois, and there engaged 
in farming tlie l)alance (if his life, living 
June 22, 1880. His wife died about 1866. 

After the death of his first wife, the fa- 
ther married again, the maiden name of his 
second wife being Emily Bennett and she 
now resides in Kansas. There were se\en 
children born nf the first marriage, namely: 
T. Jeff, born in 1834, i)in- subject; Nelson, 
deceased: Matilda, wife of Jeff Donavan, a 
retired farmer of Mason City, Illinois ; Sam- 
uel, deceaseil : Webster, who died at the age 
of sixteen ; Alexander, who li\-es in ^linne- 
apolis, ^linnesota, and is a lra\-eling sales- 
man; Mary Ann, wife of John M. Jones, of 



St. Louis, Missouri. All the children were 
well educated in the common schools of this 
county. 

()ur subject alwavs remained on the old 
homestead and engaged in farming. For 
three years after his marriage he resided in 
Mason countv, Illinois, but then located on 
his present farm, where lie owns two hun- 
dred and forty acres of fine land, wliich he 
had greatly improved and on which he car- 
ries on general farming and stock raising. 
Understanding thoroughlv all the details of 
his calling, he has been enabled to conduct 
his farm verv successfullv and is regarded 
as one of the leading" agriculturists of Logan 
count}-. 

In i860 Mr. Chestnut was married to 
Margaret Caldwell, of Logan county, Illi- 
n(_)is, daughter of Brice Caldwell, an early 
settler in this county, now deceased. Mr. 
and Mrs. Chestnut have had eleven children, 
namely: Ella, at home; Charles, who is 
married and resides in Nebraska; Lincoln, 
who is also married and is a resident of 
Nebraska: Albert and John Logan, at home; 
Dax'id, a hardware merchant of N^ew Hol- 
land. Logan county, Illinois; Benjamin, of 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa : Jessie and Jennie, at 
home; and two, Harry C. and INIary E., who 
died in infanc}-. These children ha\-e all 
received good educational ad\'antages, and 
are voung people of whom their parents may 
well feel proud. 

In politics ;Mr. Chestnut is a Republican 
and has been honored with all the minor 
township offices and for five ye?rs was town- 
ship super\isor. Both he and his most ex- 
cellent wife are earnest members of the 
Methodist church of Prairie Creek town- 
ship, and are highly esteemed in the church 
as well as social circles. Mr. Chestnut takes i 
great pride in the fact that he cast his first 
vote for Fremont. 




T J. CHESTNUT. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



537 



MURRY WORTH. 

One of tlie progressive and public-spirit- 
ed N'Oiing farmers of Logan coimty is Murry 
A\'orth, wild is a native son of the county, 
his birth lia\ing taken place at Sugar Creek, 
June 2, 1874. His parents were Charles 
and Ellen (]\Iartin) ^^'orth, the former a na- 
ti\e of Illinois and the latter of Logan coun- 
ty, their marriage taking place in Lincoln. 
The father is a farmer of this county, where 
he first rented land and then Ijought one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, in Corwin 
township. Lie now owns three hundred and 
twenty acres. His political sympathy has 
always been with the Republican party. Both 
father and mother of our subject are living, 
surrounded with afifection and enjoying the 
esteem of the communitw 

Murry \\'orth of this biography is one 
in a famil}- of seven children, six of whom 
still survive, these being: Florence, the wife 
•of Wile)' Jones, of Broadwell township ; 
William, single, at home ; Murry, of this 
sketch ; Lily, the wife of Benjamin Rankin, 
of Broadwell township: Xellie, who resides 
with her parents : and Roy. 

The early boyhood and youth of our sub- 
ject were spent on the home farm and at 
school, the winters being devoted to study 
of books and the summers ti) the stnd_\- ui 
land and its proper management. Until the 
age of twenty-twO' years he remained with 
his father assisting liim, his marriage at that 
age not interfering with the course of his 
business life, f(jr lie remained his father's 
assistant fcsr the following year. Then he 
rented a farm in Broadwell township where 
he lived for two \-ears and then returned 
to the homestead farm, li\ing there one year. 
At the end of that time he ]jassed one mfjnth 
in Middletown, but decided to again engage 
■in farming, renting a tract up<:>n which he 



lived for one year and then removing to the 
A'alnable and desirable farm which he now 
occupies. Mr. Worth has erected a hand- 
some residence and barns on this farm, con- 
sisting of one hundred and sixty acres of fine 
land, on section 4, Corwin township, which 
he rents from his father. 

Mr. ^^'orth was married December 23, 
1896, at Lincoln, Illinois, to Miss Anna 
Steinhauer, wh(> was born at Williamsville, 
Se]>tember 8, 1876, a daughter of William 
and Ellen F". ( Brust ) Steinhauer. Her 
father \vas born in 1843, "i Germany, and 
to< America in 1850. Her mother was born 
in Ohid. where the_\- were married. Shortly 
after tlie_\' came to Illinois, locating in San- 
gamon county, where Mr. Steinhauer en- 
gaged in farming and later coming to- Logan 
count}'. He owns a fine farm of three hun- 
dred and ninety acres in Broadwell and 
West Lincoln townships and is considered 
one of the substantial and reliable men of the 
county. The mother of Mrs. Worth dietl 
September 4, i8yi. A prex'ious marriage 
of Mr. Steinhauer had been to Miss Mary 
Theobald, who lived but a short period, and 
then he married Phebe Ellen Brust. 

Mrs. Worth is one in a family of four- 
teen children, the surx'ivors being : Lizzie, a 
child of the first union, married Harvey 
Barker and resides in Menard county : John, 
also of the first union, married Anna Ful- 
sher and resides in \\'est Lincoln township ; 
]\Iolh" married \\'illiam Aery and resides in 
^\'est Lincoln township : Anna is the wife of 
Mr. Worth: Minnie is the wife of William 
Fulsher, who reside on the old homestead 
farm in \Vest Lincoln tcjwnship ; Maggie, 
Samuel, lantha and Abraham all live at 
home. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Worth numlier Imt two and the older one, 
]\Inrry, l)orn on December 5, 1897, died in 



538 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



infancy, while the other, Phnel)e B. C, born 
on March 19, 1899, is a bright, intelligent 
child, tlie light of the household. Mr. 
\\'(irtli i.s an adherent of the Rqjublican 
party, luit he is not a seeker for political 
preferment, being satisfied as an excellent 
and successful farmer and respected citizen. 



ALBERT S. CORTHON. 

.Vlbert S. Corthon, deceased, was for 
many years a highly respected citizen of 
Logan county, Illinois. MoA'ing there at an 
early day when the facilities (jf railroad trav- 
eling were unknown, he with his family and 
that of his father-in-law made the journey 
from Ohio by wagon. 

His parents, John P. and Elizabetli 
Corthnn, were inhabitants of Virginia at the 
time of his birth, October 14, 1827. Short- 
ly after they mo\-ed to Logan ciiunt\-, Ohio, 
where the father died when our subject was 
but f\ve years old. The home was not brok- 
en up until seven years after, when he and 
his mother went to live with an uncle, J. 
A\'. Carter, and William R. Hamilton was 
then appointed his guardian. When a boy 
of sixteen he learned the carpenter's trade 
and from then on he tuok a man's place in 
life. 

On Xovemljer 14, 1830, ^Ir. Corthon 
was united in marriage with Miss ]\Iary R. 
Willmurth, who is also deceased, her death 
ha\ing occurred July 2, 1901. She was a 
daughter of Joseph and Nancy Willmurth. 
Five years after his marriage, Mr. Corthon 
moved to Illinois, locating at Atlanta, Logan 
countv, where he followed his trade of a car- 
penter for three years. In 1858, he formed 
a partnership with Andrew Downey and 
engaged in stock raising for ten years. He 



JOHX WIGGIXTOX. 

Among the pruminent early settlers of 
Logan cnuntx' is Jnhn Wigginton, whose 
name is held in honor through the county, 
and who has been identified with much of its- 



subsec|uentlv formed a partnership with 
.-VIexander Downey, with whom he engaged 
in farming and stock raising for several ' 
}-ears. 

In 1873, he removed to the place which 
was known as his home at the time of his 
death. He placed the land under a high 
state of cultivation and by economy he was 
able to lea\-e his family a comfortable com- 
petence. He departed this life ]\Iay 2, 1901, 
and his death was a loss not only to his 
immediate family, but to the entire com- 
munity. Six children mourn the loss of 
their parents, five sons and one daughter. 

A life lr;ng- resident of Logan county, 
the news of his death was a shock to the en- 
tire community in which he had so long 
made his home. He made a success of his 
life and when he was called to the great 
bevond he left a name that will lono- be 
honored by not only those with whom he 
was acquainted, but liy future generations,. 
for it is such men that have made this great 
west what it is today — the greatest countrv 
on the face of the globe. 

Mr. Corthon was an acti\e member of 
the I. O. (_). F.. and from the organization 
of the Methodist church in Atlanta he was 
one of its most active members, serving as 
trustee and Stewart for man_\- }'ears. In poli- 
tics he supported the men and measures of 
the Democratic party, but could never be 
prevailed upon to accept oflice. preferring to 
gi\e his undi\-ided attentions to his own in- 
terests. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



539 



progress and (le\"eli)])inent. A man of large 
landed interests, cnnnected with public af- 
fairs in many capacities, he most worthily 
represents a very highly esteemed ancestry. 
The birth of Mr. \^'igginton occurred 
August 2T„ 1827, and he is a son of Peter 
and Marguerite (Trumbo') W'igginton, the 
former of whom was born in Loudoun 
ci}unty, Virginia, and the latter in Kentucky, 
where they resided for ten }'ears after their 
marriage. The father engaged in farming 
in Pxiurbon county, where our subject was 
burn. In the year nf his birtli they remoA'ed 
to Illinois, and located at Siierman, Sanga- 
mon county, where the family remained im- 
til the death of the parents. Tweh-e chil- 
(b'en were Imrn to them, namely; \\'illiam, 
deceased, married Cordelia Hill, of Wiscon- 
sin, and the widow now resides in Lincoln, 
Illinois; Samuel died unmarried, in Galena, 
Illinois; Dortlia, wIk* married Stephen 
Clarno, died in Farmer City, Illinois; Mar- 
tha married \\'esle_\- Council, and they re- 
sided at ^\'illiamsville, Illinois, but both are 
now deceased : Andrew, deceased, married 
Samantha Boyd, and they reside in loAva : 
John, of this sketch, is the next of the fam- 
ily ; Mary married Stephen Beck, and they 
resided in Logan county, but b(jth are 
r;rnv deceased ; James, deceased, married 
]\Irs. Catherine ^lead, who resides in Wis- 
consin; Elizabeth, married John IMartina, 
deceased, and the widow resides in Lincoln; 
Nellie married William Council, and li\'ed in 
Sangamon county, but Ijotb are now de- 
ceased; and Rachel died in infancy. Mr. 
^^"igginton of this sketch, who is a man of 
sui)erb ph\'sical development, weighing some 
two hundred and sixty pounds, has outlived 
almost all of his familw although his life has 
been one of almost ceaseless activity, both 
bodily and mentally, his large lousiness inter- 
ests requiring a clear head and proper mental 



adjustment t(.) conduct to the successful 
finish which has attended his efforts. 

When our subject was a lad it was al- 
most as difficult in his locality tO' obtain 
educational advantages as it now is to evade 
them, and he was given the best schooling 
obtainable. His father needed his assist- 
ance on the farm and it was freely given 
until he was twenty jxars of age, when he 
took a trip' tO' Mississippi, in order to see 
something of the world. Upon his return 
he engaged in work in Sangamon county 
for the Chicago & .Mton Railroad, and later 
took a contract for the grading of this road 
four miles north of Williamsville, later tak- 
ing a contract for four miles of grading for 
the Illinois Central Railroad north of Pana. 
Ha\'ing successfully carried out these con- 
tracts he then undertook tO' build four miles 
of ro'ad north of Bushnell on the Chicago. 
Burlington & Ouincy Railroad, returning to 
Logan county after the comi)letion of this 
contract. 

Mr. W'igginton then rented the farm 
u])on wliicli he now resides and bought the 
same some five years later. He is one of 
the largest landowners in the county, pos- 
sessing sixteen hundred acres in ^^"est Lin- 
coln, Sheridan and Corwin townships, his 
residence being in West Lincoln, on section 
6. Mr. Wigginton has had many wonder- 
ful and interesting experiences, criming to 
this county when game was still abundant 
and wild beasts still roamed in the forests. 
Perhaps some of his most interesting rem- 
iniscences are connected with the lamented 
President Lincoln, who was his warm per- 
sonal frieufl. His trading was done at 
Springfield, at a time wlien he says he could 
have loaded all the dry g(x)ds of the town on 
bis wagon, and he recalls that the onl_\- law 
suit he ever had was conducted in that city, 
when ]\Ir. Lincoln was the lawyer on the 



■540 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



other side. Ixit whose eloquence did not 
c!"jange tiie right of the case, our subject 
coming ot¥ winner. At that time Lincohi, 
Illinois, the flourishing and beautiful city of 
to-uay, was not in existence. Postville being 
the trading point in that direction. 

!Mr. Wigginton is the owner of the 
original Lincoln pear tree, the seed of which 
was planted Ijy Mrs. Maria Fleming, who 
brought it from Urbana, Ohio. The fruit 
of this tree has l.ieen sent to other countries, 
its perfect adaptability to almost all climates 
making it a very valuable species. 

In 1855 Mr. Wigginton was united in 
marriage with .Vug'usta Tiptnn, a native of 
Tennessee, who died shortly afterward, 
leaving no children. For his second wife 
he married Dicy Ann Fleming, a nati\e of 
Champaign ctjunty, Ohio, by whom he had 
-two children : \\'esley, a farmer of Corwin 
township, who married Elizabeth Richards 
and has three daughters ; and Peter, who 
died in childhood. Mr. \\'igginton"s third 
tmion was with Catherine Lucas, who was 
born in Corwin township, September 1.2, 
1842, a daughter of George and Elizabeth 
(Pence) Lucas, natives of Greene and 
■Champaign counties, Ohio, respectively. Her 
parents were married, however, in Logan 
countw Illinois, where the\' located at an 
•early day. and they made their home in Cor- 
win tOAvnship until the death of the father, 
which occurred July k), 1895. The mother 
now makes her home with our suliject at the 
■age of eighty years. By his last marriage 
Mr. ^^'igginton has four children : John, 
who married Mamie Hender and resides on 
a farm which, adjoins that of our subject; 
Cahin, who niarried Sadie Squires, and re- 
sides with our sul)ject, assisting in the man- 
agement of the farm : Belle, who married 
Owen Beaxer, and resides in \\'est Lincoln 



township; and Elizabetli, who married One 
Beaver, and resides in Sheridan township. 

Al r. W'igginton has been one of the prom- 
inent men of West Lincoln township, and 
lias served in turn as schcxil director, trustee, 
r(.)ad commissioner, in fact has served his 
township and count}- in almost ever_\- capac- 
it}', always with efficiency and with an eye 
single to its benefit. In ])olitics he is an 
ardent Republican, and in religious faith is 
a Methodist. He was made a Alason at 
Petersburg. Alenard county, fifty-four years 
ago, and took an active part in forming the 
lodge at W'illiamsville. but later dimittted to 
Lincoln Lodge. In early life he followed 
cari>entering to some e.xtent and assisted in 
building the old state house at Siiringfield. 
He is held in the highest esteem in this coun- 
ty where he is widel}^ kiiown and uni\er- 
sall\- respected. 



JACOB BOST. 

Jacob Bost, a jjrosperous farmer residing 
on section ig, Laenna townshi]), was born 
in Pickawav count}-, Ohio. Feijruar}- 15, 
1843. His father, John G. Bost, was a na- 
ti\'e of Reading, Pennsvlvania. and was a 
vonng man -when he remo\-ed to I'ickaw-ay 
count}-, Ohio, where he married ]Miss Eliza- 
beth Kurtz, who was probably a native of 
that county. Both were of German lineage. 
Leaving his old home in the Bucke}e state, 
the father came to Illinois in 185 1, and first 
located in Edgar county, near Paris, where 
I'.e followed his chosen occcupation, that 
of farming, until 1861, when he remov- 
ed to Laenna township, Logan county, set- « ^ 
tling upon a farm about a mile east of the f 
present home of our sul>ject. There he died 
about 1868. His first wife, who was the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



541 



niutlier of our subject, had died in Oliio. 
and he subsequently married Sophia Fell, 
wlio died about 1866. 

Our subject was only eight years of age 
when the family migrated to Illinois, but he 
remembers the trip distinctly, and although 
he walked the greater part of the wa_\' he 
had an enjoyable time. In this state he 
grew to manhood, and when the Ci\il war 
broke out he enlisted in i80j in Com])any 
D, One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Volun- 
teer Infantry, under Captain David Van 
Hise. He w as in camp at Lincoln a couple 
of UKiiiths and then the regiment was sent 
to Jackson, Tennessee. His experience in 
battle was on the river a little below Little 
Rock, and many times afterwards was under 
Ih-e, but ne\er in ])itched l)altle. He was in 
the hospital at Helena, -\rkansas, for about 
three weeks, and after a ser\-ice of three 
years was mustered out at SiM"ingfield, Illi- 
nois. His war record is one of which he 
luay well be proud. 

After the war 'Sir. Bost returned to his 
home and resumed work on the farm. With 
his savings he purchased forty acres of land, 
which "now" forms part of his home farm. 
As there was no house upon his land he pur- 
chased an old school house, which he fixed 
up as a residence, Init since then has built a 
comfortable house, barn and all necessarx' 
outbuildings and added to his acreage until 
his farm is a nmst excellent une of one hun- 
dred and thirt}- acres, upon which he has 
made all of the improvements, it being wild 
jjrairie land when it came into his posses- 
sion. He sold a ])ortion of his propertv ti) 
the Illinois Central Railroad Companv, 
which there established Narita station, 
formerly St. John's on the. Peoria. Decatur 
& Evansville Railmad. and it makes a con- 
venient .shipping point for him, being only 
fifty rods from his home. 



On the 24th of June, 1879, Mr. Bo.st 
married Miss Catharine Sims, a native of 
Laenna township, this count}", and a daught- 
er of David and Elizabeth Sims. Three 
children have been born of thi;; marriage, 
namely : Sarah Etta is now the wife of 
Edward Diggins and li\-es in Iowa: Ed- 
ward, who li\es near his father, married 
Etta Stinnet, of Laenna township, and thev 
have one child, David E. ; Oscar D., the 
\-oungest of the family, is at home. 

Air. Bost is a Republican in politics, but 
not an office seeker. He became a member 
of the Masonic fraternity at Mt. Pulaski and 
is a Chapter Mason and a member of the 
Commandery of Mt. Pulaski. He is also a 
member of Samuel \\'alker Post, G. A. R., 
Xo'. Sy. of Alt. Pulaski, and both he and his 
wife are n"iembers of the Eastern Star. Thev 
are very pleasant, hospitable people and en- 
joy the highest respect and esteem of all who 
know them. 

♦-•-♦ 

CHARLES \V. LEE. 

AoKjng the progressive farmers and esti- 
mable citizens of Logan county, is Charles 
\\\ Lee. who \\as born in Alenard count)', 
Illinois, December 4, 1871, and is a son of 
Peter and Alary (Centers) Lee, the former 
a nati\-e of County \\'exford, Ireland, and 
the latter of Cass county, Illinois. The 
marriage of the parents of our suljject was 
celebrated at Petersburg, Illinois, in the 
Catholic church, Fel)ruary 4, 1871. The 
father lived in thai locality until in the 
spring of 1890, when he mo\-ed to Logan 
county, and located in Elkhart township, 
where he is one of the prominent citizens, a 
memlier of the Catholic church of Elkhart 
and a stanch Democrat in his political con- 
victions, but no politician. 



542 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Charles \\". Lee, our subject, was tlie 
eldest in a faniil_\- oi ele\en cliildren. the 
others being as follows : John, who mar- 
ried Anna Sturgeon, and resides on a farm 
in Elkhart township; Mary, the wife of 
Thomas Brennan, who resides on a farm in 
Hurlbut township; Hugh, unmarried, who 
li\-es in \Msconsin ; Daniel, who conducts a 
livery business in Elkhart; Peter, unmar- 
ried, who is a ])artner with his brother, in 
the li\-ery business, in Elkhart ; James and 
Jennie, at home ; Edward, who died at the 
age of two antl one-half years ; ^^'alter and 
Lauretta, at home. 

Charles W. Lee attended school in the 
district in wliicli be was reared, in Menard 
county, remaining under instruction until he 
was si.xteen years of age, and from that time 
imtil he was twenty-one assisting his father 
on the home farm. He then rented land for 
himself and started out as an agriculturist, 
immediatel}- putting into practice the pro- 
gressive ideas which since then have mater- 
ially assisted in making his operations so 
successful. 

On October 4, 1900, at Elkhart. Illinois, 
by Rev. Thomas Kennedy, in St. Patrick's 
Catholic church, be was united in marriage 
to Miss Mary G. Brennan, who was born at 
Elkhart, July 3, 1877. and is a daughter of 
Thomas Brennan. more extended mention 
of the family being made on another page 
of this volume. 

After marriage our subject located on 
the farm which be has since occupied. For 
the past five years he has operated the fine 
tract of three hundred and twenty acres, on 
section 4, in Elkhart township, and is justly 
regarded as one of the most progressive and 
successful among the young farmers of this 
neighborhood. He adopts modern methods 
and machinery and breeds high-grade stock 
entirely. 



In politics 'Sir. Lee is a Democrat and he 
is one of the leading members of St. Pat- 
rick's Catholic church. Fraternally he is 
connected with the Modern \\'oodmen of 
America, and carries life insurance in tw'O 
excellent companies, the New York Mutual 
Life, and the New York Life Insurance 
Company. Mr. Lee has improved his farm 
since locating upon it and his comfortable 
residence, good barns and attractive sur- 
roundings give an idea of thrift which 
speaks \olumes in favor of his excellent 
methods as a farmer. He is highly respect- 
ed in the community, and in e\ery way is an 
excellent citizen. 



WILLLVM H. KIRBY, M. D. 

William H. Kirby, M. D., one of the 
most prominent and successful members of 
the medical profession in Chestnut, was born 
in Farmer City, DeWitt county, Illinois, 
November 22, 185 1. His parents, Jacob 
and Elizal)eth (Page) Kirby, were natives 
of New Jerse}-, and were married in Farmer 
City. Illinois, in 1850. whither the elder 
Kirby bad removed with his parents when 
a young man, and where bis death occurred 
in 1857. The mother also came to Illinois 
with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Phineas 
Page, in 1840. and is one in a family of 
eight children, who were born in New Jer- 
sey. Ohio, and Illinois. Jacob Kirby had 
nine brothers and sisters, wno are now scat- 
tered over different parts of the United 
States. 

Dr. Kirbv received his education in the 
public schools of DeW'itt county, and his 
medical training was acquired in the medical 
department of the Northwestern LTniversity, 
where be spent three years, and graduated 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



543 



with honors in the class of 1877. For the 
following eleven years he practiced medicine 
in DeW'itt Cdunty, and gained an enviahle 
reputation as a physician and surgeon, his 
services being in demand from one end of 
the county to the other. While living here 
lie married Sarah P. Howard, and of this 
union there have been born three children, 
of whom two survive, Alfred D. and iSIay 
K. The children have been educated in the 
public schcx)ls, and the son is now in the 
high-school of Mount Pulaski, an unusually 
bright and intelligent youth, who, for the 
past three years has had a standing in 
school of ninety-five. Airs. Kirby is a 
daughter of Benjamin H<iward, and was 
born in DeWitt county, Illinois, and edu- 
cated in the puljlic schools. 

Dr. Kirby is not only a broad minded 
exjx>nent oi medical science, and one who 
keei)S in tduch witli its progress all over 
the w(jrld, but he is also a man of broad 
and lil)eral general ideas, and practicallv ap- 
plies them to the good of the community. 
He has witnessed many changes during his 
long residence here, and he has himself con- 
tributed in no small degree to the prosperity 
of the past and present. As a politician he 
upholds the traditions and issues of the Re- 
publican party, and has been a delegate to 
numerous county and state conventions. 
Fraternally he is associated with the Ma- 
sons, at Mount Pulaski, being a Knight 
Templar, and the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of which latter organization he has 
been a member for the past twenty-five 
years. His family and himself have for 
many years been members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, of which he is trustee. 

In connection with his practice. Dr. Kir- 
by has also been engaged in the drug busi- 
ness at Chestnut for the past fifteen years, 
and carries a fine line of drugs, as well as 



the usual sundries found in a first-class 
drug store. He has taken an active interest 
in educational afl:'airs and has acted as school 
trustee and treasurer for several terms. The 
Doctor was appointed postmaster under 
President McKinley's first administration 
and has filled the ofifice nearly four years 
quite acceptably to the people and with 
credit to himself. The Doctor is a member 
of the Brainard District Medical Society, 
of which he is the present president, and is 
also a member of the State Medical Society 
and the National Medical Association. 



ANDREW J. BRAAIMAN, 

One of the most highly esteemed citi- 
zens of Broadwell is Andrew J. Bramman, 
who has been identified with the business 
interests of this locality ever since the open- 
ing of his career. The birth of Mr. Bram- 
man occurred in Mt. Pulaski township, 
September 5, 1866, and he is the son of two 
most highly respected old citizens, Patrick 
and Louisa A. ( Cartmel ) Bramman. 

Patrick Bramman was burn in County 
Longford. Ireland, near the city of Dublin, 
in 1842, and was seven years of age when 
he accompanied his parents to Sangamon 
county, and later to Logan county. His a\'o- 
cation has Ijeen farming, but he is now liv- 
ing retired, in Broadwell, where he owns 
\-aluable property. The mother of our sub- 
ject was born in Logan county, January 
28, 1844, and here she was educated, and 
met and married Mr. Bramman. Both ])ar- 
ents are in the enjoyment of physicial and 
mental health, and are surrounded by many 
of their children, in homes of their own. 
Twelve children were born to them, one of 
these dying in infancy. Terry M., whose 



544 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



deatli occurred in Broadwell, in 1894, was 
the second of tlie family, to pass aAvay. He 
was \vell and widely known, far beyond the 
limits of this locality. He was in many lines 
a genius, and was a gifted musician. He 
was the inventor of the original model of 
what is now known as the Janney coupler, 
M. C. B. and Goul pocket liand couplers, 
now in use on almost all railroads in 
the United States, although he nc\er real- 
ized any material benefits from it. In 189J 
a tramp machinist was kindly received at 
the Bramman JKime, and Terry, with the 
kindness which ever influenced him, believed 
his story of bad luck, gave him food and 
shelter, and unwisel_\- exhiliited to him his 
invention. The glib tongue of the tramp in- 
duced him to part with the model, and this 
was exhibited at the World's Fair, in Chi- 
cago, under the name (if the Janney coupler, 
the tramp claiming it as his own. Other 
valuable in\-entions from which he never 
realized anything were : a folding \\indmill : 
a patent flnat to regulate the height of water 
in a tank ; and a hog tmugh. His trade was 
that of a barber, and he was also a painter, 
a musical performer and a critic of no 
mean order. He left one daughter, Essie 
V. The other members of the Bramman 
family are: William, who lives in Broad- 
well : Andrew J., our subject ; Minnie L., 
who resides at home: Edwin P., whO' lives 
in Broadwell; Rnsa. who is the wife of 
Frank Buckles, and lives near Mt. Pulaski; 
Patrick T., who is a Ijarber by trade, and 
lives at home; James L., who is a graduate 
in the violin, under Prof. H. O. Merry, and 
resides at home: and Mamie B., Charles 
and Kitty, all at h(imc. 

Andrew J. Bramman received his educa- 
tion in the common schools and later took 
a lousiness course in stenography, by mail, 
from the Potter Business College, of W^il- 



liamsport, Pennsylvania. He was an am- 
bitious student and in his youth he cheer- 
fully walked the necessary two and one-half 
miles to and from school. For the past six- 
teen years he has been engaged in clerical 
work, in the grain business, coming into the 
present ofiice when it was managed by Ran- 
dolph, Read & Company, and has remained 
under the present management of Spellman 
iv Spitly. He has been active in political 
work and since 1896 has been town treas- 
urer and is township clerk of Broadwell. 
"His residence has always been under the 
parental roof, the family being a happy and 
united one. 

FraternalK' jMr. Bramman belongs to 
Kenwood Lodge. K. P.. No. 405, of Elk- 
hart, Illinois: and is an associate member of 
M. W. A. Camp Xo. 57*0, Broadwell. He 
has lieen one of tlie most satisfactory of- 
ficials of the town, and in his private busi- 
ness enjovs the confidence and esteem of all 
with whom he comes in contact. 



'li^OMAS F. HOLMES. 

One of the leading citizens of Lincoln, 
Illinois, who is prominently identified with 
the cit\'s most impnrtant industri:il enter- 
prises, is Thomas F. Holmes, the efficient 
superintendent of the Citizens' Coal Com- 
pany. The l)irth of Mr. Holmes occurred 
in Brooklyn, Xew York. February 16, 1861, 
and he was a son of Thomas and Ellen 
( Reardon ) Holmes, both of whom were 
born in Ireland. The former came to .\mer- 
ica when he was a young man of twenty- 
two years and during his life, prior to lo- 
cating in Illinois, was connected with street 
car lines, but later liecame a farmer ami the 
owner of property in Linc<;)ln. Illiudis, where 






T. F. HOLMES. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



547 



Iiis death nccurred ini July g, ]()or. The 
motlier of nur su1)ject was l)orn in 1841 and 
(lied in Lincohi, Illinois, in 1S7S. having 
Ijeen a most devoted mother, excellent wife 
and consistent Christian. From their earli- 
est years hoth parents had heen connected 
with the Catholic chnrch. They had a fam- 
ily of seven children and five members still 
survive, these being: Thomas F., who is the 
sul>ject of this review; W^illiam H.. who is 
a bookkeeper in Lincoln; Ellen, who is the 
wife of J. Maloney, of Lincoln; John R., 
wdio is a resident of Chicago; and Stephen, 
who has his residence in Lincoln. 

Until he was thirteen years of age Thom- 
as F. Holmes attended the common schools 
and he later supplemented the education thus 
acquired b}- a period at night school. He re- 
mained on his father's farm until 1880, com- 
ing then to Lincoln, where he soon became 
connected with coal interests. Energetic and 
capable, he filled various positions in the dif- 
ferent departments connected with the De- 
catur Coal Company, in Macon countv. Illi- 
nois, where he remained for some time, re- 
turning to Lincoln to become superintentl- 
ent of the Citizens' Coal Company, in i88(;. 
Mr. Holmes has charge of one hundred and 
twenty-five men and possesses that excellent 
judgment and executive ability which en- 
ables him to deal justly by them, while still 
furthering his employers' interests. 

In 1885, in Lincoln, Illinois, Mr. Holmes 
was married to Miss Jennie F. McCann. who 
was born in Pennsylvania. l)ut received her 
education in Lincoln. To this marriage six 
children have been born, namely: Robert 
E., Edgar F., Walter R., Agnes, Ellen and 
Mildred, all of whom are attending school 
in Lincoln. 

Mr. Holmes has long been an active Re- 
publican and has been ever ready to bear 
his part in public affairs for the benefit of 

29 



his comniunit}', but he has never sought of- 
fice. Social!}- he is connected with the order 
of Knights of Pythias, of which he is past 
chancellor, and also that of Improved Order 
of Red ]\Ien. and has held c*Tficial positions 
in both organizations. 

Mr. Holmes is a self-educated and self- 
made man, who has successfully made his 
wa}- to the front rank in business life by 
the application of energy, honesty and in- 
tlustry to all his efforts. The world has need 
of such men and a close examination into the 
ranks of those who have become prominent 
in any line w^ill almost always result in the 
discovery of just those elements which have 
contributed to the advancement of Thoma.s 
F. Holmes. 



PETER LEE. 



A prominent and successful farmer of 
Logan county is Peter Lee, who was born 
in County ^\'exfoTd, Ireland, April 25, 1847,. 
and is a son of Hugh and Margaret (Col- 
lins) Lee, natives of the same countv, where 
the father died some nineteen vears ago, the 
mother sur\'iving but two years. Both were 
devoted members of the Catholic church. 
.Six children were born to them as follows : 
J(jhn. who married Eliza Cavanaugh, since 
deceased, and lives near La Junta, Colorado; 
Patrick, who married Mary O'Hara, and 
lives in Logan county, west of Elkhart r 
Peter, the subject of this sketch ; James, who 
married Johanna Cody, and resides in Coun- 
t>- Carlow, Ireland ; and two babes who died 
in infanc}'. 

Peter Lee, of this biography, attended 
school in Ireland until he was fifteen vears 
of age and then for three years wcw-ked for 
his father on the farm. In 1865 he decided 
to find a new home for himself in America 



548 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and with this end in view took passage 
from Queenstown, Ireland, on tlie good ship 
St. Bernard, and after eigln days hmded in 
Castle Carden, New York. He went imme- 
diately to Springfield. Illinois, and soon 
found plenty of employment on the farms in 
that locality, and remained there for four 
years and seven months, later renting a farm 
for himself in Menard county. 

^Ir. Lee was married February 4, 1871, 
at Petersburg. Illinois, Ijy Rev. Father 
Cluce, at St. Peter's church, to Miss JXIary 
Centers, who was born in Cass county, April 
5, 1852. She was a daughter of Levi Cen- 
ters, wlio was a native of Ohio, her mother 
being Frances (May) Centers, a native of 
Kentucky. They were married in !Mason 
county, where the father was a farm- 
er and where the mother still lives, 
the father having died in January. 
1898. The children born to 'Sir. and Mrs. 
Centers were as follows: Mary, the wife 
of our subject ; Jane, who married Thomas 
Gleason, and resides in [Nliddletown, Illi- 
nois ; James, who married and removed to 
Kansas City. Missouri: Daniel, who is mar- 
ried and lives in Peoria, Illinois : Josephine, 
who married Edward Oars and resides in 
Mason City, Illinois. 

The children born to ^Ir. and 'Sirs. 
Lee were: Charles, who married ]\Iary G. 
Brennan ; John, who married Anna Stur- 
geon and resides on a farm near Elkhart": 
[Nlary. who married Thomas Brennan. auvl 
resides on a farm in Hurlbut township : 
Hugh, unmarried, who resides in Wiscon- 
sin : Daniel, who is in the livery business in 
Elkhart : Peter, unmarried, who is a partner 
^\•ith his brother in' the livery business, in 
Elkhart : James, single, at home : Jennie, 
also at home; Edward, who died at the age 
of two and one-half years : and Walter and 
Lauretta, at home. 



Shorth' after his marriage, "Sir. Lee set- 
tled in Menard county, where he lived in 
different places until he decided to move 
to Logan county, where many friends 
and acquaintances were already lo- 
cated. On February 24. 1890, lie located 
on a tine farm of three hundred and sixty 
acres of valuable land, on section 5, Elk- 
hart township, Logan county, and since that 
time he has been actively engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. He is recognized as one 
of the leading farmers of his locality, and 
he has also been successful in the raising of 
line stock. 

]\Ian\- political otfices have been offered 
to 'Sir. Lee and he has been urged to be- 
come a candidate on many occasions, but he 
has invariably refused, although he has been 
acti\e in the ranks of the Democratic party, 
supporting its men and measures. He 
came to America with limited means, but 
1j\- the exercise of econoni}'. honest}' and 
energ\-, he has attained a most honorable 
position in the county, and has reared a 
family which in every way does him credit. 
Both he and family belong to St. Patrick's 
Catholic church. 



JACOB STARR. 



Jacoli Starr, now deceased, was one of 
the ])rosperous farmers of Mount Pulaski 
township, who came from Germany to th.e 
new world to try his fortune and found here 
tlie op]>ortunity he sought. His unremit- 
ting- labor and capable management enabled 
him to o\ercome obstacles and to achieve a 
fair measm^e of prosperity. 

;\[r. Starr was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Germany, April 9, 1815, and died ]\Iarch 3, 
1884, when about sixty-nine years of age. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



549 



His chiUllKind and }-outl; were spent in the 
fatherland and his edueation there gained. 
It was in 1844 that he crossed the Atlantic 
In the new wmid, landing in Baltimore, 
Alatyland, whence he made his way to V^;iii- 
dalia, Illinois, coming thence to Logan coun- 
ty in 1846. He enlisted at jNIonnt Pulaski 
and ser\-ed throvigh the Mexican war. Re- 
turning to ^Nlount Pulaski he took up one 
hundred and sixty acres on a soldier's calim. 
He had but little capital and went in debt 
for the farm im[)lements which he purchased, 
but labor brings its reward and his efforts at 
length enabled him to discharge his financial 
obligation ujion tlie place and also to ex- 
tend its boundaries In- additional purchase 
until he was the owner of twO' hundred acres, 
constituting a very valuable tract. He 
raised large corn crops and these he fed to 
liis hogs and cattle upon which he realized 
a good profit when placed upon the market. 
As his financial resources increased he in- 
vested his money judiciously and made ex- 
cellent impr(i\'ements upon his farm, erect- 
ing a good residence and substantial barns, 
sheds and all the necessaiy outbuildings. 
His farm became one of the best improved 
in the neighborhood. In all his business 
transactions he was honest and thus won the 
ci>nfidence and respect of those with whom 
he was associated. 

After his return from the Mexican war. 
]Mr. Starr married Miss Carolina Erlenbosh, 
who was burn in \\'urteml)erg, Germanv, 
and died in 1853, leaving two children : 
Henry, now a farmer of Kansas; and Mrs. 
Katherine \\'agner, a widow living in Ne- 
braska. Mr. Starr was again married Jan- 
uary 18, 1855, his second union ])eing with 
]\Iiss Katherina \\'einrich, who was born in 
Bavaria, Germany, October 4, 183 1. In 
1854 she came to the United States, landing 
in Daltimcire. A\hence she came direct to 



Logan county, Illinois. After his marriage 
jMr. Starr began farming in Mount Pulaski 
township. After some years he sold his 
first place of eighty acres and bought one 
hundred and twent}' acres in the same town- 
ship. A few months previous to his death 
Mr. Starr bought a farm of two hundred 
and ten acres in Broadwell townshipy but this 
was not paid for at the time of his death. 
IMrs. Starr, a lady of most excellent busi- 
ness abilit}- and executive force took up the 
task of not only caring" for and educating 
their children, but also of clearing the new 
farm of the mortgage and as the result of 
her capable management and her well di- 
rected labors the farm has Ijeen made to pay 
for itself and is now free from all incum- 
brance. 

Nine children were born unto Mr. and 
]\Irs. Starr, fi\-e daughters and four sons, 
name!}' : George S., a farmer; John, a 
farmer of Mount Pulaski ; Frederick, in 
saloon business in Mount Pulaski ; Solomon, 
also* a farmer; Marv, the wife oi Henry 
Meister, a farmer; Christena and Ann, at 
home ; J\Iargaret, the wife of Samuel Gro^- 
ber, of Mount Pulaski ; and Lena, the wife 
of John Spitly, a lirick mason of Mount 
Pulaski. 

?ilrs. Starr is an acceptable and con- 
sistent member of the Second Lutheran 
cliurch. After paying for the farm she re- 
mo\ed to the village of Mount Pulaski, 
where she owns and occupies, with her son 
George, a good substantial frame residence. 
In the summer of 1901 Mrs. Starr, with her 
son John, purchased a fine farm in Moimt 
Pulaski township for w hich they paid seven- 
teen thtmsand dollars. Mrs. Starr super- 
intends all the business interests of the es- 
tate and not until after her death will the 
pr(>]ierty be divided, wlien it will go in equal 
shares tn the children. She speaks botii 



55° 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



German and English and can transact busi- 
ness affairs in eitlier language. She is an 
excellent financier, sagacious and farsighted, 
and her judgmient is rarely at fault. She 
has accomplished much since her husband's 
death and befcire that time they worked to- 
gether, she being his ad\-isor and ci>unselor 
in all things. Like him she enjoys the 
high regard of many friends, the name of 
Starr being a respected and honored one in 
Logan county frum the time Jacob Starr 
took up his al)ode here in 1846. 



CHARLES B. TAYLOR, M. D. 

The skill of Dr. Charles B. Taylor as a 
medical practitioner is l^}' no means confined 
to Elkhart, but is recognized and appreci- 
ated throughout the whole of Logan count}'. 
He was born in .\dair ci unity. Kentuck}'. 
October 13, 1858, his parents. Dr. J. G. and 
Sally ( Elliott ) Taylor, being natives of the 
same state and county. Dr. J. G. Taylor 
had a professional experience coxxring more 
than fifty years, carried on principally in his 
native state. However, in 1872 he changed 
his field of effort to Elkhart, Illinois, and 
after practicing with much success for eleven 
years, returned to Kentucky, where his 
death (jccurred in August. 1889. His first 
wife having died in 1861, he was married 
in 1863 to Carrie nright, a native of Ohio. 
.\ Republican in politics, he was fraternally 
associated with the Masons, and was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Ejiiscopal church. He 
was a thorough student of medicine, and 
received a large patronage wherever his lot 
was cast, and his many admirable traits of 
character Ijound to him the aft'ection and 
friendship of all who knew hini well. He 
was' the father of five sons, viz; Dr. 



George O., who married Augusta Harpole 
and resides in Chicago, Illinois; J. C, who 
is a druggist and merchant at Elkhart ; 
Z. T., who married Dora Brady and is a 
member of the firm of Z. T. Taylor & Com- 
pany, and has seven children, one of whom, 
is Dr. George G. Taxlor, of Hartsburg, Illi- 
nois; C. G., who married Sally Allen, has 
three children, and is a farmer and stock 
raiser li\-ing one-half t^f a mile east of Elk- 
hart ; and Charles B. 

The education of Dr. Taylor was ac- 
quired in a subscription school conducted 
by the Presbyterian church at Columbia, 
Kentuck\-, and at the iniblic schools in Elk- 
hart. .\t the age of nineteen he entered 
Rush Medical College, at Chicago, and later 
graduated from the medical department of 
the Unix'ersitv of Louis\-ille, in 1881. At 
the time he was regarded as one of the most 
promising pupils of the class. After grad- 
uation he came (hrect to Elkhart, and n<3w 
has one of the largest and most lucrative 
practices of any . of the physicians in the 
county. He is a member of the Chicago 
Medical Society and the Capital City Medi- 
cal Society. Fraternall}- he is associated 
with the Royal Court of Honor, of Elkhart, 
the Kenwood Lodge, No. 545, Knights of 
F'ythias, the Modern Woodmen of America,, 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
the Royal Arch Masons. In politics he is 
a Republican. 

On December 30, 1884. in Hurlbut 
township. Dr. Taylor married Katie Hun- 
ter, who was born in Kentucky in August, 
1862, a daughter of James .\. and Harriet 
(Peters) Hunter, natives of Kentucky. 
The parents came to Illinois about 1855 and 
settled in Hurlbut township, but the father 
died in Kentucky in 1S95. The mother, 
who died about 1879 in W'illiamsville, San- 
ganion county, Illinois, was the mother of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



551 



five children: ]Mary, wlm was before her 
death the wife of Jolm M. Poorman, of 
^^'illiamsvi^e : EHzabeth, who is the wife of 
James P. McConnell, of Versailles, Ken- 
tucky, and has one child; Katie, who is now 
I\Irs. C. B. Taylor: W. A., who is married. 
lias two children, and lives in Leadville, 
Colorado; Belle, who is the wife of James 
V. McConnell, has four children, and lives 
■on a farm in Kentucky; and Harriet P., 
who lives in Kentucky. To' Dr. and Mrs. 
Taylor has been born one daughter, Georgia 
Belle, whose natal day was August 14, 1891. 
Dr. Tavlor has been prominent in the affairs 
-of his village and tnwnship. has dune active 
work on the board of health and was elected 
supervisor of Elkhart township in 1893, and, 
while it was a Democratic board, served on 
the leading committees. 



WILLIAM! W. \MGGIXTON. 

A i)rominent farmer and stock raiser of 
Logan county, Illinois, is William W. Wig- 
ginton. who resides on a large farm in Cor- 
Avin townshi]). where he has gained a repu- 
tation for his high-grade cattle. He was 
born in this ciiunty, June i, 1859, and is a 
son of John \Mgginton, of whom a sketch 
is given in another part of this volume. 
During his boyhood he attended school in 
Fairland district, later in Alill Grove dis- 
trict and still later at the Rabbit Flat school, 
remaining at school until he was twenty-one 
years of age, during the winters, but work- 
ing on the farm in the summers. He as- 
sisted his father for still another year, but 
January 25, 1883, he was married in Cor- 
Avin township to iMiss Elizabeth Richards, 
who was born October 8, 1862, in this town- 
ship. She was a daughter of A. Y. Rich- 



ards, a native of Ohio, and his wife. Mary 
J. Hcfifman. an native of \^irginia. 

In 1860 Mr. and INlrs. Richards were 
married, in Illinuis, and he engaged in farm- 
ing here until his death, August 18, 1898, 
being buried in Lucas cemetery. The 
mother of Mrs. Wigginton still resides on 
the old homestead farm. In politics Mr. 
Richards was a Republican, and a leading 
member of the Methodist church. In their 
family were four daughters and three sons, 
namely: Clarissa, who married O. P. 
Smith, of Corwin township, and died July 
31. 190 1 ; Elizabeth, the wife of our sub- 
ject; Louise, single, residing with her 
mother ; John, who' married Lizzie Stultz 
and resides in Corwin township: A\'illiam, 
who married Zella Beaver and resides in 
Corwin townshij); Delia, who resides with 
her mother ; and Albert, who married Lilly 
Ogilby and resides in Corwin township. 

The children born tO' Mr. and Mrs. Wig- 
ginton numbered three, and are as follows : 
Floy, born August 8, 1884: Ruth, born Oc- 
tober 9. 1888: and Gladys, born December 
14, 1895. After marriage our subject and 
wife settled d(.iwn on the farm on section i, 
Corwin township, which he still occupies, 
where he farms some two- hundred acres and 
raises some of the finest stock shipped from 
this neighborhood. ]\Ir. Wigginton is a 
progressi\-e. ui)-to^date farmer, thoroughly 
understanding- agricultural matters, using 
modern machinerv and keeping posted on 
all matters pertaining to stock. 

In politics he follows the example of his 
father, and votes and works with the Re- 
pulilican partv. while he and his familv are 
members of the Methodist church, to which 
he is a literal contributor. Mr. \\'igginton 
is held in high esteem in Logan county, oi 
wliicli he is a most estimable and \-aIuetI 
citizen. 



552 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



HENRY BECKERS. 

Henry Beckers, one of tlie leading farm- 
ers of Logan county, was born in the Rhine 
Province of Germany, January 2, 1844, and 
is a son of John and Marguerite (Freesen) 
Beckers. In 1853 tliey emigrated to this 
country, landing in New York, after a 
stormv voyage of forty-four days. They 
at once came west and located in Cass coun- 
ty, this state, taking up their residence in 
Beardstown, where the father went to work 
at whatever he could find to do. He pros- 
pered in liis undertakings, later buying a 
small farm near Beardstown, on which he 
lived until two years before his death, which 
occurred on his farm in Mt. Pulaski town- 
ship, Logan county, May 4, 1870. 

Henry Beckers remained at home with 
his parents and recei\ed a good common 
school education, which was mostly in Ger- 
man. He engaged in whatexer he could 
find to do and remained with his people until 
a man grown. At the age of twent)"-one 
years he decided to strike out in the world 
for himself. Having saved a portion of his 
wages, he went to Da\is county, Iowa, and 
purchased one hundred anil twenty acres. 
After residing there one }ear he was mar- 
ried, September 22, 1875, to Miss ]\Iaria 
Oppers, of Jacksonville, Illinois, and con- 
tinued his residence in Iowa until 1880, 
when he sold his propert)- there and re- 
turned to Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. Here he 
purchased the interests of the other heirs in 
his father's farm, consisting of eighty acres, 
and upon the place he built a good house and 
bam and made many other improvements. 
He has added to this property until he now 
owns one hundred and si.xty acres of land 
on section 9, Mt. Pulaski tuwuship, all of 
which is well impro\ed. 

The marriage of 'Mr. and Mrs. Beckers 



has resulted in the birth of three children, 
all of whom are living. In order of birth ; 
their reci.rd is as follows: ]\Iaguerite, wh(3 | 
is the wife of John Ophardt; John, who has 
taken up the study of law and is now a stu- 
dent of one of the leading law schools of 
Chicago^; and William, who is at home. 

In politics our subject is a stanch sup- 
porter of the principles of the Democratic 
part)', but has ne\er been an aspirant fur 
pulilic fa\'ors, preferring to devote his entire 
time to his business interests. In religion 
he was reared in the German Reformed 
church, l)ut is now a memlier of the Evan- 
gelical Association church. 

Mr. Becker deserves a great deal of 
credit for the success that he has attained, as 
he started out in life with nnthing but a 
firm determination to succeed, having never 
had the help of friends or inheritance. 
What he has made has, therefore, been ac- 
quired 1j\- his invn honestv and industry. 



JOHN C. THOMAS. 

Among the progressive farmers and 
stock raisers of Hurlljut township, Logan 
county, Illinois, who ha\-e been largely in- 
strumental in the development of this sec- 
lion of the country, is John C. Thomas, 
who was born in German)-, January 2~, 
1 856, and is a son of Christopher and Anna 
(Jonas) Thomas, both of whom were na- 
ti\es of Germany. The parents were mar- 
ried in Germany, and there the father en- 
gaged in farming until his death, which oc- 
curred in i88g, and his wife died in 1873. 
Thev ne\cr left their native land. 

John C. Thomas was one of a family of 
seven children, namely : Frederick, whO' 
married Miss Bumgort and resides in Ger- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



55 J 



many: Susannah, who married Frederick 
Jilgar and resides in Germany; Anna, who 
is marrietl and resides in Germany ; Anne- 
stena, wlio married Max Schirschin in Ger- 
many l>ut came to America in 1895 and now 
resides in Ell<liart township, Logan county, 
llhnois. Tlie others (hed in cliildiiood. 

Our suhject attended tlie excellent 
scliools of Germany until he was fourteen 
years of age. when he assisted his father 
u])on the farm for ahout three years. He 
then worked for other parties as a mechanic 
until he reached the age of twenty years. 
At this time he served for two )-ears in the 
German army, and after his return home 
worked for himself for several years. Ahout 
this time he decided that there were more 
opportunities for a young man in America 
than in his nati\e country, and in 1879 he 
crossed the ocean and located at Lincoln, 
Illinois, for the winter. In the spring he 
went to Xew Holland, Logan county, where 
he worked as a farm hand for a year. His 
next employer was Henry Buck, who re- 
sided near .\tlanta. and our suhject re- 
mained with this man for two years, when 
he married. 

After his marriage ]Mr. Thomas took 
charge of the farm o^wned hy his wife, con- 
sisting of eighty acres, and since then has 
made it one of the finest farms in Logan 
county. It is situated on section 13, Hurl- 
hut township. All of the huildings are in 
excellent condition, the harn is large and the 
house comfortahle and fitted with modern 
con\'eniences. The fences are well ke])t u]) 
and the entire place shows that the man at 
the head is a thorough farmer, who under- 
stands all the details of his occupation. Mr. 
Thomas makes a sjiecialty of raising high- 
grade cattle for the market, and his ])roduct 
finds a ready sale. 

yir. Thomas was married March 2, 



t886, in Logan county, to Mary K. Kastens, 
who was horn in Germany, Septemher 29^ 
1853, and is a daughter of Jacoh and Anna 
K. (Smell) Schneider, also natives of Ger- 
many, where they were married and where 
the father followed the calling of a farmer. 
They came to America in 1883 cm a steam 
vessel and landed in New \\)rk. From that 
city they went to Menard cmuitv, Illinois, 
where they settled on a rented farm. There 
they resided, engaged in farming, until the 
tleath of the father, which occurreil May 6, 
1894. He is huried in Logan county, and 
his widow now resides with Mrs. Thomas. 

Mrs. Thomas was one of a family of ten 
children, the others being as follows: Ja- 
col), who is married and is now residing in 
(jerman\-: Peter, who is married and lives 
in (iermanv: Minnie, who is the wife of 
Christian Riebel and resides in Chalfont, 
Pennsyhania : William, who tlied at the age 
of se\'en )'ears : Julius, who resides in Lin- 
coln, Illinois; Caroline, whci married Will- 
iam Hanner and resides in Climbing Hill, 
Iowa: Elizabeth, who died at the age of si.\- 
teen years ; Lewis, who died at the age of 
twenty-seven; Adolph, who married Isa- 
Ijella Da\-is and resides on the farm at 
Lawndale. Logan county, Illinois. Mary 
K. Schneider lirst married Frederick Kas- 
tens, also a native of Germany, at the Lu- 
theran cluu'ch, Lincoln, Illinois, I'ebruary 
26, 7874. They located on a farm in Hurl- 
but township and later moved to Menard, 
county, where Air. Kastens died in 1884, 
leaving one child, of four born, George, who 
is still at home. After the death of Mr. 
Kastens his wiilow bought the farm of 
eighty acres where she still li\es. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were born the 
following children: John Frederick, horn 
on December 20, 1886; and Anna Maria, 
born on June 29, 1889 — two bright little 



554 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ones, the pride of their parents' hearts. 
They ah'eady give promise of becoming ex- 
ceptionally fine children. 

]Mr. Tiionias is independent in politics, 
belie\-ing- it the best policy to vote for the 
best man and for the principles best suited 
to the needs of the peo^ile rather than tn con- 
fine his influence toi any particular party. 
The family all attend the German Lutheran 
church in Lincoln, and are very active in all 
g'ood works. Mr. Thomas is very popular 
thro.ughout the township, and his pleasant 
home is often a gathering- place for the 
neiglibors who enjoy the hearty hospitalit}- 
extended them In' the host and hostess. 



EDWARD GIR.'^OX. 



One of the most resiji.msible positions 
connected with the great buildings of mod- 
ern da\s is that of the engineer, the com- 
])licated machinery which now firings com- 
fort, conibined with safetv, recjuiring the 
services of those who have been carefully- 
trained in this line of work. Particularly is 
this the case in the Home for Feeble-iNIinded 
Children, which is located in Lincoln, Illi- 
nois, where are sheltered hundreds of these 
helpless wanls of the state. The capable in- 
cumbent of that office is Edward Gifison, 
who is the subject of this biography, and 
who was a|)pointed to this position of re- 
sponsibility by the late Governor Tanner, 
and whose efficiency has Ijeen recijgnizeil 1)\' 
a rea])pointment b\- the ])resent executive. 

The birth of Mr. Ciil.ison occurred in 
Tuscarawas county, Ohio. Feliruar}- 5. 
1S42. and he is a son of Ivobert and Isa- 
bella I Cunriingham) Gibson. l)oth of whom 
were natives of Ireland. Robert Gib- 
son came of a family of influence and mean^. 



in Ireland, and was taught the profession of 
music, teaching ])rior to his marriage in his 
own ciiuntry, and after locating in Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania, in 1835, still suc- 
cessfully continuing it. Later he removed 
to Ohio, where he died in 1843. 

The mother of our subject was born in 
Ireland in 1815, and came with her husband 
to America, in 1835. After the death of Air. 
Gibson she married William Stewart, who 
is a resident of Emporia, Kansas. The two 
c.iiidren of her first marriage were: INIar- 
garet. who is the wife of \\'illiam Pollock, 
a farmer lixing in the \icinit\' of Emporia, 
Kansas, and Edward, who is the subject of 
this sketch. By her second marriage she be- 
came the mother of three sons and three 
daughters, all of whom reside either in Iowa 
or in Kansas. The death of the mother oc- 
curred in Logan county, Illinois, in 1869. 

Edward Gibson, our subject, acquired 
his education in Illinois, coming to the state 
and locating in Pike county, in 1848. The 
trip was made o\erland and but one railroad 
was crossed during the long journev from 
Ohio. That was in the state of Indiana, for 
at that time no improvement of this nature 
had reached Pike county. There our sub- 
ject remained until the outlireak i_)f the Civil 
wdv. Until he was fifteen vears old be lived 
with his step-father, but after that he man- 
aged liis own career. 

As a farmer 1ki_\-, accust(jmed only to the 
most peaceful of pursuits, our subject en- 
listed as a soldier, in Julv, 1861. entering 
Conipan\- I). Seventh Illinois \'iilunteer In- 
faiUi'y. but one \-ear later he was discharged 
on account of disability. This did not 
damjien his youthful ardor or loyalty and in 
July, iSOj, he re-enlisted, entering the One 
Hundred and Si.xth Illinois Infantry and 
ser\ed faithfully until tiie close of the war, 
recei\ing his honorable discharge August i, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



557 



1865. ^Ir. Gibson proved his valor at Bel- 
mont, ]\Iissouri ; Fort Henry, Kentucky ; 
Fort Donelson, Tennessee; Pittsburg Land- 
ing and Shiloh. After re-enlisting he took 
part in the siege of Mcksburg; Clarendon, 
Arkansas; and Little Rock; and did his full 
share in guard dutv and in the frequent and 
•often dangerous skirmishes with the enemy. 

Returning from the war safe and vic- 
torious, Mr. Gibson found his first opening 
for future usefulness in farming, although 
his natural inclinations led him in another 
direction. The opportunity had not yet come 
for perfecting his knowledge in engineering, 
"tijward which his tastes lir>d always in- 
clined him. In 1879 he went to Kansas, 
selling his farms in Oran and Aetna town- 
ships, consisting of two hundred and eighty 
•acres of land, upon which he had passed 
fourteen years, but the following year he 
■secured a position near Lincoln, Illinois, 
where he ran a stationary engine until 1892. 
Then he accepted the position of engineer 
and foreman of the Lincoln Excelsior Fac- 
tory, efficiently performing the duties there 
for five years. In 1897 he was selected by 
the late Governor Tanner as chief engineer 
for the Asvlum for Feel)le-]\Iinded Chil- 
<]ren, at Lincoln, and on June 3. 1901, he 
was re-appointed by Governor Yates. This 
is considered the most resiwnsible position, 
with one exception, in the institution. 

]\Ir. (iibson has Ijeen so careful and at- 
tentive to his duties that during his man- 
agement no serious accident has ever oc- 
curred, and he keeps in his employ two 
experienced assistants and a steamfitter. 

]\Ir. Gibson was married in Octi)ber, 
1863, in Logan county, to Miss Mary Fraz- 
ier Ferguson, who was born in Gibson coun- 
tv, Indiana, in August, 1845, and is a 
■daughter of John and Emih- O. (Knowles) 
Ferguson, the former of whom died in the 



same year Mrs. Gibson was born. The sec- 
ond marriage of ]\Irs. Ferguson was to 
Thomas Perry, the child of the first mar- 
riage being Airs. Gibson, while two daugh- 
ters and four sons were born to the second 
union. Elizabeth married Samuel Holmes, 
who li\es at Beason, on a farm, and there 
the mother died in 1899, '^^ the age of eighty- 
one years. The rest of the family have 
homes in Indiana and Oklahoma. 

The education of INIrs. Gibson was pur- 
sued in the common schools of Indiana and 
Illinois, coming to the latter state in i860. 
She has long been connected with the Meth- 
odist church, to which Mr. Gibson gives a 
liberal support. The family born to Mr. and 
Airs. Gibson numbered eight children, three 
of whom died in infancy, the survivors be- 
ing as follows: Clarence R., who lives in 
Lincoln, engaged in farming, married Eliza- 
beth \\'illmert, wh(] died in 1900; Florence 
E., who married Herbert Rockwell, lives in 
Lincoln, with one daughter, — Ruth; Lv- 
man E. is a steamfitter in Colorado Springs, 
Colorado, and is single ; and Amy and Alma 
reside at home. All these children have 
creditabl}- passed through the common 
schools at Lincoln and are useful members 
of society. 

In his political life Mr. Gibson has al- 
ways upheld the principles of the Republi- 
can party and has taken an active interest 
in public affairs. He has served a number of 
times as school director, township clerk and 
township collector, and in 1890 he was ap- 
pointed census enumerator of Sheridan 
township. His first \ote was cast for J. AI. 
Scott, for judge of the supreme court, and 
in national affairs he voted for President 
Linci:)ln, in 1864. 

Socially our subject meets old comrades 
in the Leo A\'. Myers Post, No. 182, G. A. 
R. ; is a member of the Union Veterans 



558 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Union, and is also connected with tlie camp 
of ]\I. \y. A., No. 109. and lias passed all 
of the chairs. ^Ir. Gibson has shown him- 
self to be a man of sterling business quali- 
ties, has filled public offices with efficiency 
and has won the confidence of the puljlic in 
such a way that it feels satisfied that one of 
the greatest charities of the commonwealth 
will never be neglected in his special line 
Avhile he holds his present [josition. 



HON. JAMES C. TAYLOR. 

The substantial career of James C. Tay- 
lor, president of the Bank of Elkhart, has 
lent solidity and strength to the political and 
commercial growth of Elkhart, and has 
placed him among the popular and influen- 
tial citizens of the town. A southerner by 
birth and training, he was born in Adair 
county, Kentucky, May 26. 1850, and is a 
son of Dr. James G. and Sally (Elliott) 
Tavlor, wln) were also natives of that coun- 
ty. For over half a century his father was 
successfullv engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine, most of that time being spent in Ken- 
tucky, but in 1872 he came to Illinois, and 
followed his profession in Elkhart for eleven 
years. He then returned to Kentucky, 
where he died in August, 1S89. He was a 
thorough student of medicine, and enjoyed 
a large and lucrative practice in the com- 
munities where he resided. Politically he 
was a Republican, and sociallv was a mem- 
ber of the Masonic order. He was also a 
consistent member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and was held in the highest re- 
gard by all who knew him. His first wife 
died in 1861, and two )-ears later he wed- 
ded Carrie Bright, a native of Ohio. In 
his familv were i\ve sons, namely: Dr. 



George O., who married Augusta Harpole i 
and resides in Qiicago ; James C, our sub- j 
ject: Z. T., who married Dora Brady and is 
a member of the firm of Z. T. Taylor & 
Company, of Elkhart; C. G., who married 
Sally Allen and is a farmer and stock raiser 
living a half mile east of Elkhart: and 
Charles B., a physician of Elkhart, whose 
sketch appears on another page of this vol- 
ume. 

^Ir. Taylor, of this review, was reared 
in Kentucky, and his preliminary education 
was acquired in the early subscription 
schools, held in a little log school-house. 
Between the ages of fourteen and sixteen he 
also atteniled the high school of Columbia, 
Kentucky, and later worked on a farm fur 
a couple of years. In the fall of 1872 he 
came to^ Elkhart. Illinois, and entered the 
employ of his brother, George O. Taylor, 
then a druggist of that place. Two years- 
later he became a member of the firm, which 
then assumed the name of Taylor Brothers. 
Subsequently, when Z. T. was admitted to 
a i>artnershiij in the business, the firm name 
was changed to Z. T. Taylor & Company, 
as it now stands. The firm is now engaged 
in g-eneral merchandising, carrying a large 
and well-selected stock, and in another store- 
room deals in drugs and druggists" sundries. 
Besides his interest in this business our sub- 
ject also owns some valuable farm land in 
Elkhart and Hurlbut townships. 

]Mr. Ta}lor is a Republican in national 
politics, and his influence is ever exerted for 
the best interests of his party. As a poli- 
tician he is held in Iiigh esteem, and his in- 
tegrit\- is ne\er questioned. He has been a 
member of the Republican central commit- 
tee, school treasurer, president of the \illage 
board and supervisor of his township. Al- 
though the count}- board was Democratic at 
that time, he was appointed on several im- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



559 



portant committees. In 1900 his ability to 
deal with the questions and issues of the day 
recei\-ed recognition from his fellow citizens, 
who elected him to the state legislature from 
the thirty-second district, and while a mem- 
ber of that august body he served on the fol- 
lowing committees: Finance, public chari- 
ties, penal and reformatory institutions, 
parks and boulevards, retrenchment, county 
and township organization, soldiers' home, 
sanitar\- aiTairs and senat(.irial apimrtion- 
ment. He took an acti\-e part in the sena- 
torial redistricting or re-apportionment, 
using his influence especially to have Logan 
county assigned to a Republican district, as 
it had previously lieen a Democratic dis- 
trict for ten years, and his efforts met with 
success. His ^•ario'US official duties have 
been discharged with a promptness and 
fidelity worthy of the highest commenda- 
tion. Air. Taylor is emphatically a man of 
enterprise, positive character, indomitable 
energy and liberal \iews. and is thoroughly 
identified in feeling with the growth and 
prosperity of his county and state. He at- 
tends and supports the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and is a member of the Court of 
Honor and Elkhart Lo<lge, No. 307, I. O. 
O. F., of which he is past grand. 



PAULUS HORN. 



Logan county is the home of a great 
many prosperous farmers who started in 
life with nothing but a firm determination 
to succeed. To this class belongs the gen- 
tleman whose name heads this review. He 
first saw the light of day on a sailing \-essel, 
]\Iay 23. 1844. when his people were enn- 
grating to this country. He is a son of 
Henry and Elizabeth ( Krause) Horn. On 



reaching the shores of America they landed 
at New Orleans, and from there came up 
the Mississippi river to St. Louis, where 
they resided for about nne year. .\t the end 
of that period they came tO' Mt. P'ulaski, Lo- 
gan county, and after a short residence in 
this place the father went to California dur- 
ing the early days of the gold excitement 
and he engaged in mining, the familv re- 
maining in Mt. Pulaski. He also engaged 
in the manufacture of brick to quite an ex- 
tent in California, which trade he had fol- 
lowed most of the time since landing in this 
country, although by trade he was a weaver. 
.\fter Slime time spent in the west he re- 
turned to Logan county, Illinois, and he en- 
gaged in farming, buying land in ?\It. 
Pulaski township, where he owned three 
hundred and eighty acres. In his family 
were eight children, all of whom lived to 
reach mature years. He was called to his 
final rest in 1883, at the age of seventy-three 
}ears, and his remains are interred in the 
cemetery at Mt. Pula.ski. His wife is still 
livinp- and makes her home with her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Lizzie Mason. 

Pauhis Horn receixxd a good common 
school education and remained with his fa- 
ther until he was eighteen years of age, when 
he enlisted, in i8(>2. in Company B, One 
Hundred and Si.xth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantr}-. After about three months which 
was spent in camp at Lincoln, this county, 
his regiment was ordered south to Jackson, 
Tennessee. While en route down the Mis- 
sissippi river they were fired on by the rebels 
and one of their number killed. Several 
times the regiment was under liea\ v firing, 
but was never engaged in a pitched battle. 
Mr. Horn was in the service of his country 
for three years, and during this time was 
never an inmate of a hospital, but contracted 
diarrhea, ivcm which he has ne\-er fullv re- 



560 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



co\-ere(l. He was mustered out of tlie serv- 
ice in August, 1865. and honoralily dis- 
charged at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 

After his return from the war lie was 
united in marriage with Miss Catherine 
Maus, a daughter of Conrad Maus, the cere- 
mony taking place in February, 1866. She 
was a nati\-e of Germany, and came to this 
country with her parents when a child and 
was reared to womanhood in Logan county. 
Nine children 'blessed this union : ]\Iary. wlm 
was born August 25, 1867, and is now the 
wife of Paulus Pfau ; John, born June ij. 
1 871: Lizzie, born August 27, 1873; Em- 
ma, w1k> was born December 15, 1875, and 
married George Romer : Tillie, who was 
burn March i, 1878, and is the wife of John 
Englantl ; Frederic, born January 31, 1880: 
Frank, born .\pril 13, 1884; William, born 
May II, 1886; and Lo-uis, born August 25, 
1888. 

The succeeding three years after his 
marriage Mr. Horn engaged in farming on 
his father's farm, and the next three years 
were spent on a farm belonging to his father- 
in-law. .\t the end of that time he pur- 
• chased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, which is his present home. To this 
he has added until he now has a well-im- 
proved and highly cultivated farm of two 
hundred acres, which is located on sections 
18 and 19, Laenna township. He has made 
all the improvements, including the erection 
of the buildings, etc. The farm is all well 
tiled, and is one of the best in the townshi]:) 
where he has so long made his home. 

Since attaining his majority ^Ir. Horn 
has been a strong believer in the Democracy 
and has taken an active part in the pul)lic 
affairs of his township and county. .\t the 
present time he is serving as highway com- 
missioner, which position he held continu- 
-vuslv for nine vears. He was then out two 



years and then re-elected, and has continued 
in the office ever since, his last election being 
the sixth time he has been elected to that 
office, or fnr a period of eighteen vears. 
During this time there have been great im- 
provements made and twelve new iron 
bridges have been erected in his township, 
to which he has given his personal attention. 
Air. Horn has made a success of life, and 
this success is due entirel}' to his own efforts. 
He is in every respect a self-made man. He 
and his wife stand high in the esteem of 
their neighbors, are peojile of importance iu 
their communitv, and no re\'iew of the lives 
of the prominent men of the county would 
be complete without mention O'f Paulus 
Horn. He and his family are members of 
the First Lutheran church of Alt. Pulaski. 



THOMAS FENTON. 

Although liy no means a resident of long 
standing in Xew Holland, Air. Fenton has 
made man^- warm friends in the city of his 
adoption, and occupies a prominent place 
among the successful and conservative busi- 
ness men of the place. \Miile conducting 
a large harness, saddlery, buggy and car- 
riage enterprise, he has gained not only a 
large patronage but also the confidence of 
the community in general, who are glad to 
profit by his up-to-date and irrejiroachable 
commercial methods. A part of the present 
business was piu'chased by Mr. Fenton in 
1895 from Mr. Lenville for a little over one 
thousand dollars, and he has since made 
manv additions to his stock, and is able to 
sujiplv all reasonable flemands in his line. 

.\ nati\'e of Shelbyville, Illinois, Mr. 
Fenton was born May 4, 1865, and received 
his early training and education in the vicin- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



561 



ity i)f his birthplace. His father, Patrick 
P'enton, was born in Ireland, and emigrated 
to the L'nited States in 1861, settling in 
Shelbv\-ille, Illinois, where he followed his 
trade of building and contracting", conduct- 
ing his business on a large scale. The 
mother died April 28, 1900. 

As a means of future livelihood Thomas 
Teuton turned his youthful attention to a 
master}- of the trade of jeweler, and became 
an expert in his line. Of an active tempera- 
ment, the confinement incident to the manip- 
ulation (if his trade soon began to tell on 
liim, and he was forced to^ abandon his 
aspirations in that line. In 1885 he began 
to learn the trade of harness maker, and has 
since applied his knowledge of the same 
with credit to himself and with most sub- 
stantial pecuniary results. 

The marriage of Mr. Fenton and Emma 
\\'hite, daughter of Jonas White, one of 
New Holland's representative citizens, was 
solemnized Feljruary 11, 1897. Airs. Fen- 
ton is a member of the ^^lethodist Episcopal 
church, and contributes generously towards 
the maintenance of the same. ]\Ir. Fenton 
is a Democrat in politics, but he is not ac- 
tive in political matters. He is a man of 
pleasing address, tact and particular kind- 
ness (jf intention, and is esteemed by all who 
are pri\-ileged t(.) know him. 



JOHN C. AVIGGIXTOX, Jr. 

One of the most progressive voung 
farmers of West Lincoln township, Logan 
county, Illinois, is John C. Wigginton, Jr.. 
who was ijorn in this county, December 14, 
1865. His father was John Wigginton, a 
sketch of whose life appears upon another 
pag-e of this volume. During his boyhood 



our subject attended the common schools of 
his district, and in the fall of 1881 entered 
the university at Lincoln, but his health, par- 
ticularly his eyes, l_)ecoming weak, he was 
forced to give up the close application of the 
schoolroom, and returned tO' the homestead 
farm in 1883, and there remained until 1887. 
Then he accepted a position in a store lo- 
cated at Bellflower, Illinois, remaining there 
for three months, and during this time be- 
came accpiainted with the lady who later 
consented to become Mrs. \Vigginton. 

Mr. Wigginton then embarked in busi- 
ness at Burtonview, under the firm name of 
J. C. Wigginton & Compan\-, and he was 
also api)ointed postmaster, but he remained 
there but three months and then sold to his 
partner and returned to the homestead farm, 
where he remained until Januar_\- 3, 1889. 

On January 3, 1889, Mr. Wigginton 
was married to Miss Mamie Hender, who 
was born in Galesburg, November 17, 1867, 
and is a daughter of Frank Hender, who 
was born in England, on St. \'alentine's 
Day, in 1831. Air. Hender was a sailor by 
profession, and after coming to America, in 
1850, he occupied \'arious positions on the 
water, both in New York and on the Alis- 
sissippi ri\'er. As he was skilled in the culi- 
nary art, he was generally engaged as a cook 
during these early days, and for a time acted 
in that capacity on the Iron Mountain Rail- 
road. Going- then to^ Ouincy, he worked in 
the hardware business for the firm of Com- 
stock Hardware Company, and when the 
firm purchased a store in Galesburg he 
was sent to take charge of it, under the 
name of the Ba])cuck Hardware Comi)any. 
Later Mr. Hender bought this firm out and 
business was carried on under the firm name ■ 
of Hender, Andrew & Company. The 
Ijusiness prospered under the new manage- 
ment until a fire destroved l.)uilding and 



562 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stock, and after erecting a new building and 
stocking it Mr. Hender had the misfortune 
to suffer from fire a second time. Later he 
traded what was saved from the fires to a 
merchant in BelHIower, ]\IcLean county, for 
a farm consisting of one liundred and forty 
acres, later adding to it until he owned three 
liundred acres. Upon this land he lived un- 
til the time of his death, December 17, 1895. 
In politics he was a stanch supporter of the 
Republican party, and was devoted in his 
adherence to the Episcopal church. The 
mother of Mrs. \A'igginton still surxives, and 
lives with her two sons on the old hnmestead 
farm. 

Mrs. \\'igginton was one in a family of 
fi\-e children born to lier parents, these being 
as follows : Frank, who married Sarah 
Warren and resides on the homestead farm ; 
Albert INI., single, who resides with his 
mother and is engaged in extensive farming, 
the firm being known as the Hender 
Brothers ; Lula, who' is the wife of George 
Howe, a farmer in ?\Iansfield, Piatt county, 
Mamie, who is the wife of our subject; and 
Rose Gertrude, who is the wife of Samuel 
Howe, who resides in Piatt county, near 
Mansfield. The children born to Mr. and 
:\lrs. W'igginton number three, and are as 
follows: Mable, born March i, 1890; Al- 
bert H., born March 23, 1892; and Irene, 
born October 7, 1896, all bright, intelligent 
and attractive children. 

Immediately after his marriage Mr. 
^^'iggintl■.n settled in Sheridan township, on 
a part of the old hnmestead farm, and fur 
twelve years that was the pleasant family 
home, but at that time he had an opportunity 
to secure his present most desirable and val- 
I'.able farm, consisting of two hundred and 
twenty-eight acres in \\'est Lincoln town- 
ship. His beautiful residence is located on 
a high knoll, overlooking the surrounding 



countrv, and all of his buildings are in the 
state of improvement which tells that the 
owner takes a personal pride in his sur- 
roundings. Here Mr. Wigginton raises 
great numbers of high-grade stock for mar- 
ket purposes, and has established a reputa- 
tion in this line. In politics he has been 
an active Republican, was census enumera- 
tor for 1900 and for a number of years has 
Ijeen a school director. He was one of the 
incorporators of Lucas cemetery, one, of the 
oldest and largest in the county, and since 
its incorporation has been its secretary. 



JOHN BREST. 

Though at present li\-ing a retired life in 
Elkhart, Illinois, Mr. Brest has contributed 
his share toward developing the agricultural 
resources of Illinois, and he is entitled to 
the competence which has followed in the 
wake of his labors and to the sincere respect 
which his life insi)ires in the hearts of all 
whO' are fortunate enough to know him. Of 
Gemian ancestry, he was born on the his- 
toric Rhine, December 19, 18 19, and was 
educated and reared in his nati\-e land. His 
parents, John and Christine (Runk) Brest, 
were also natives of Germany, where they 
were married and where seven of their chil- 
dren were born. On May 10, 1834, the 
father and two sons embarked at Havre on 
a sailing vessel, and after thirty-five days 
landed in New York City, the mother and 
fi\-e children coming to America the follow- 
ing year. The father located at Cleveland, 
Ohio, and for three years was engaged at 
\'arious occupations, afterward removing to 
Pike county, Ohio, where he engaged in 
farming, owning one hundred and forty 
acres of land. His first wife died in 1843, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



56: 



and in 1S47 ''"^ married Lizzie Sides, who 
lived until 1871, her husband having pre- 
deceased her in 1866. John Brest, Sr.. was 
an industrious, hard-w(,rking man, and was 
honored and respected by all who knew him. 
In early life he affiliated with the Lutheran 
church, but later became associated with 
that of the United Brethren. In politics he 
was a Democrat. The children born of his 
hrst marriage were : Lawrence, who married 
Elizabeth Stoxer, and both of whom are de- 
ceased, li\ed in Pike count}', Ohio, and 
reared a family of six children ; John is the 
ne.xt of the family; Lena, who, with her hus- 
baml. John Ropes, is also deceased, lived in 
Ohio and had four children ; Henry lives in 
Ohio : Phoebe is also deceased, as is her hus- 
band, George Geese ; Mary is the widow of 
Fred Cottonbroak and li\-es in Ohio; Chris- 
topher, who married Miss Teavault, now 
deceased, is now living with his third wife 
in Pike county, Ohio; and two children died 
in infancy. Tlii"ough his second marriage 
John Brest, Sr., became the father of the 
follo\\ing children : Conrad married Mary 
Fry, and later Minerva Birdick, and lives in 
Logan county; Peter li\-es in Nebraska and 
is married to Mary Douce; Jacob, who- li\'ed 
in Ohio, was married, and is now deceased ; 
Phoebe; and a babe died in childhood. 

John Brest came to America with his 
nidther in 1835, at which time he was six- 
teen vears of age. In his native land he had 
ac([uired a fair c<imm()n schoul etlucation, 
but. of course, knew nothing about the En- 
glish language, and had to pick it up as best 
he could while working for his daily bread. 
He was at first employed at digging canals 
for about a year, and then went to work on 
a farm for thirteen dollars a month. At the 
end of four years lie returned to^ the public 
employment on the canals, and after two 
vears of this returned to his home and 



worked on a farm for about five years, dur- 
ing that time being employed by one man. 

On April i, 1845, 'le married, in Pike 
count}-, Ohio, Lucy ^Nl-arshall, who was born 
in Ohio, March 19, 1826, a daughter of 
Richard and Sarah Ami Marshall, the for- 
mer of whom was a native of Ena-land. 
The parents were married in Meigs county, 
Ohio, and later removed to Jackson county, 
where the father, who was a minister of 
the Universalist church, died. To himself 
and wife were bom the following children : 
Elizabeth, the widow of Jacob Hoover, has 
three children and lives in Watseka, Illinois; 
Joshua, deceased, married Lucinda Throat- 
martin, iiuAv living in Ross countv with her 
four chiltlren : Lucy was the wife of John 
Brest: John li\-ed in Ohio' and is now de- 
ceased; Richard, with his wife, Lucinda 
Throatmartin, is deceased; Sarah married 
C. S. Stratton and lived in Salem, Illinois, 
and both are dead; Lizzie is deceased; and 
two infants are dead. 

After his marriage Mv. Brest engaged in 
farming in Pike county, Ohio-, and in 1855 
came to Sangamon county, Illinois, and 
bought a farm of eighty acres, upon which 
he li\-ed for fifteen years. Eventually he 
sold this property and purchased one hun- 
dred and eighty-six acres of land in Elkhart 
township, which he improved, and built a 
residence and barns and fitted up with all 
modern conveniences. In 1883 his life was 
saddened ])v the bjss of his wife, Jul}' 19, and 
two years later he retired from active life 
and bought a comfortable home in Elkhart. 
This home is cared for by his adopted 
daughter, Grace Plummer. ]\Ir. Brest has 
been prominent in Republican political mat- 
ters, and has served as school director and 
highway commissioner. He is a member of 
the Lutheran church. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Brest were born ten children : George, born 



S64 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



January i, 1846, died jaiuiary 17, 1846; 
Christine, Imrn April ji. 1847, married 
Peter Reimers, has nine children and li\'es 
at Lake Park, Dickinson connt\', Iowa; an 
infant, born December 9. 1847, ^^'^^^^ the 
next day; Plmebe, Ixirn July 3, 1852, mar- 
ried Julius Schueler, Jiad five cliildren, four 
of whom are living, and lives at Elkhart, 
Illinois; Lucy, born March 15, 1854, died 
February 7, 1872; Jerusha, born June 17, 
1856, married Louis Plumber, had six chil- 
dren, four of whom are living, and died at 
Ker home in Elkhart, Illinois, February 24, 
1891 ; Mary, born October 7. 1858, died 
January 21, i860; an infant son, born De- 
cember 18, i860, died the following day; 
Henry F., born August 20, 1862, married 
Hettie Burdick, has three living children 
and lives at Elkhart; and John J., born 
March 28, 1869. married Susie Simons, has 
two children and li\-es cm a farm near Elk- 
hart. 



THOMAS L. SNOOK. 

This well-to-do and successful agricult- 
urist of- Atlanta tnwuship, was born in 
Logan county, on the 8th of October, 1867. 
and is the voungest in a family of thirteen 
children, whose parents were John A. and 
Allsha (Hendrickson) Snook. The father 
was born in Maryland, ^Nlarch 11, 1820, and 
as his parents died when he was a mere boy, 
he was reared by strangers until old enough 
to follow the plow, when he commenced 
earning his own livelihood as a farm hand. 
In early life he learned the distilling busi- 
ness, but devoted his attention mainly to 
farming, becoming rpiite an extensive and 
successful agriculturist. He was purely a 
self-made man and the prosperity that at- 
tended his effort was certainly well deserved. 



Coming to lllinciis in 1864, he settled in Mc- 
I-ean county, but spent his last years in 
Logan count)-, where he died July 20, 1900, 
honored and respected by all who knew him. 
Llis wife jiassed away August 7, 1890. In 
their family were the following children: 
Henry, who was liorn Jul}- 10, 1841, and 
died January 14, 1842 ; George \\'., who was 
born October 21, 1843, ^"^ died September 
16, 1890; Mary E., born IMarch 12, 1845; 
Hulda, who was born August 16, 1846, and 
died September 16, 1847; Nancy J., lx)rn 
September 8, 1848; Esther V., Ix)rn March 
31. 1 851; .Sarepta A., born April 4. 1853, 
and died .\pril 21, 1854; Maranda V., born 
July 9. 1855; Joseph A., born August 16, 
1857; Phebe A., born January 31, 1859; 
]da P.. L. V, v., who was born July i, 1865, 
and died November 15, 1881, and Thomas 
L., born October 8, 1867. 

During his l)o\liood and ^-outh Thomas 
L. Snook pursued his studies in the common 
schools of his native county and aided in 
the cultivation of the home farm, which con- 
sists of two liundred acres of choice land. 
There is a nice modern residence upon the 
])lace, and it is up-to-date in all its appoint- 
ments, being one of the model farms of the 
community. Having received a good prac- 
tical education our subject commenced life 
for himself as a farmer, and has since en- 
gaged in that occupation with most gratify- 
ing results. 

Mr. Snook was married, February 12, 
1893, to Miss Mary A. Murphy. Her fa- 
ther. Daniel ^Nlurphy, was a native of Ire- 
land, and was a young man when he came 
to the United States. He landed in New 
York, and from there came to Illinois, hnal- 
Iv locating in Atlanta, where he followed 
farming until his death, which occurred in 
1888. In religion he was a devout Catholic 
and reared his familv in that faith. His 




I 



JOHN A. SNOOK. 




MRS. JOHN A. SNOOK. 



!l 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



569 



wife, wlio l)ore the maiden name of Rosa 
Fitzgerald, is spending her declining days 
in Atlanta. ]\lr. and Mrs. Snook have f(^ur 
children, whose names and dates of jjirth 
are as follows : Rose .\., December 25, 
1893: William T., April 4, 1896; Mary A., 
January 19, 1898; and Elizalieth L., Jnly 
24. 1899. 

In his political views (jur subject is a 
stalwart Demncrat. He is identified with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
the ]\lutual Aid Society. His farm, which 
is located on section 24 and 25, Atlanta 
townshi]). is one of the most desirable places 
of the locality, and its neat and thrifty ap- 
pearance testifies to the careful supervision 
of the owner, w ho is regarded as one of the 
most thorough and skillful farmers of his 

communit}-. 

■*—*■ 

WILLIAM R. LEACH. 

AX'illiam R. Leach, one of the prosperous 
farmers and stock raisers of Elkhart town- 
ship, Logan county, Illinois, resides on sec- 
tion 31. He was born in this county, July 
3, 1866. and is the son of Adiniram and 
Mary E. (Ross) Leach. The father was 
born in Xew York state and his wife in 
Ohio. Thev were married in Sangamon 
count}-, Illinois, and there the father en- 
gaged in school teaching. He purchased 
four hundred and seventy-eight acres of 
land in Logan county, where he was ex- 
tensively engaged in sheep raising up till 
the time of his death, which occurred in 
1866. The mother is still li\ing, making 
her home with our suliject. Two children 
were born to these parents, as follows : 
Miles A., who married Miss Mollie Hack- 
ett, of Kentucky, and now resides in Corn- 
land, Illinois, where he is in the grain busi- 
ness; and William R., our subject. 

30 



^^"illiam R. Leach attended first the dis- 
trict schools of Logan county until he was 
twehe years of age and then the Lincoln 
high school and later went to the Lincoln 
L'niversity. finishing his education, how- 
ever, at the Illinois State University at 
Champaign, at the age of twenty-one, hav- 
in.g taken the short agricultural course to 
prepare himself for farming. 

Returning home, ]Mr. Leach began busi- 
ness life by engaging in general farming and 
stock raising, and after his marriage he took 
up his residence upon the farm he now occu- 
pies on section 30, Elkhart township, al- 
though he- also owns considerable property 
in other portions of the country ; in all, own- 
ing one hundred and sixty acres in Logan 
county in addition to his share of his fa- 
ther's estate of one hundred and thirty-two 
acres, one hundred and sixty acres in Kan- 
sas, and one hundred and sixtv acres in Da- 
kota. On his home farm he has a large, 
modern residence and a fine training barn, 
and he makes a siaecialty of training high- 
grade harness and saddle horses, for which 
he has natural ability. In order to carry 
out his ideas with regard to such matters, 
Mr. Leach lias a well-equipped barn and ex- 
cellent track, and also breeds standard-bred 
horses and high-grade shorthorn cattle, 
and he also feeds a great many cattle. His 
harness horse "John Hackett" took a gold 
medal at the state fair, and his horse "King; 
Rc-k" has taken a great many premiums. 
He had a three-year-old record of 2:265^.. 
His iiorse "Blake," 2:i2,yi, is now being 
trained fiir tlie track, and is one of the high- 
est bred horses in the state. Mr. Leach is 
also the owner of other good stock besides 
those enumerated. 

On January 14. 1891, he was married to 
Miss Minnie B. ^NfcClelland, a daughter of 
Roljert and Annie (Groves) McClelland, 



570 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlie ccreniiiny heiiis^^ perlcinned at the resi- 
dence of the hriile in Sangamon connty, llh- 
nois. Mr. McClelland and his wife were 
both natives of that county, were married 
there and lived in that locality for a numljer 
of years. Tliex- then removed to Chicago, 
but after three years came to Lincoln, where 
they now reside. Mr. ^McClelland is also 
engaged in horse training. He and his wife 
have twi> children, as follows: Minnie, wife 
of our subject; and Jacob, who resides in 
Chicago and is a bookkeeper for the Armour 
Packing Company. 

Mrs. "Leach was born in Sangamon 
CQunty, September 15. 1872, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of f'lur 
children, namely : Mabel, born on March 
6, 1893; Annie, liorn on July 2, 1894: Xor- 
val, born on ]May 3, 189C); and Minnie, born 
on Xovember 16, 1898. ]\Ir. Leach is a Re- 
publican in iiiilitics. and is a member of Elk- 
hart Camp of Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. He attends the Cuinberland Presb)- 
lerian church, and he and his wife are very 
highlv respected in the locality where they 
make their home. 



HEXR^' (;oi',el:\[.\x. 

This well-known and prominent business 
man of Chestnut was born in Jackson coun- 
ty, Ohio, on the 20th of March. 1853. His 
father. Valentine Gobelman. was born iii 
Germanv in 181 2. and in that country grew 
to manhood and married ]\Iiss Barbara 
Spohn. also a native of tlie fatherland. In 
their family were the following children : 
Barbara, wife of Louis Ro])]). of Jacks. m 
countv, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of Le\i 
Scherenberger, of Pike county, Ohio; Kalh- 
erine, who is living at the old home in Jack- 



son county, that state; Plucbe, widow of 
|olui \\ amliaugh, who died in that county in 
1870; V^alentine, also a resident of Jackson 
county, Ohio; Mary, wife of Jacob I'riek, 
of Pike connty, Ohio; and Philip, who re- 
sides on the old homestead. -j 

The earlv life of Henry Gobelman was 
like that of the average farmer boy reared 
in Ohio. He attended the district schools 
as opportunitx' permitted and early became 
familiar with agricultural pursuits. Leav- 
ing hiune in March. 1877. he came to Chest- 
nut, Illinois, where he was \'ariously em- 
ployed for Some time. At first he engaged ! 
in farming upon rented land and then pur- 1 
chased one hundred and eight acres, which 
he improved and tilled to excellent ad\an- 
tage, but he has found mercantile pursuivs 
more to his liking, and judging from his 
success it is the occupation for which he is 
l>est fitted. In 1887. he embarked in general 
merchandising in partnership with Williap.! 
]\lcMahon, who ten months later sold out to 
our subject's present partner, William 
Ba])st. and the Inisiness has since been con- 
ducted under the firm name of Gobelman & 
Bapst. The}- have a good store which is 
well stocked with hardware and general 
merchandise, and the ])atrons of this well 
ke])l establishment receive the most court- 
eous and kindly attention. Besides his 
business propertv and a gocd residence m 
Chestnut Mr. Gobelman still owns the farm 
of one hundred and eight acres which he 
purchased some years ago. 

In 1877 Mr. Gobelman wedded Miss 
]\lar\ Bapst, who was l)orn in Pike county, 
Ohio, anil was educated in its public schools. 
.She is the oldest in a family of si.x children. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gobelman lia\e eight children, 
three sons and five tlaughters. namely : Liz- 
zie, now the wife of X'ute Lakin. of Logan 
countv; Emma, Lulu. William W., Frank 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



571 



L., Pansy 'and Tracy, all at home. Tlie 
family attend and support the Methudi^t 
Episcopal church. 

During President Cle\eland"s first ad- 
ministration Mr. Gohelman was appointed 
postmaster of Chestnut, and on the expira- 
tion of the term his partner was given the 
same office, while iiur suliject hecame assist- 
ant postmaster, ser\ing as such during Pres- 
ident Plarrison's administration. During 
the latter part of President Cleveland's sec- 
ond term Air. G(_ibelman was reappointed 
postmaster to till an une.xpired term of 
eighteen months caused by the defalcation 
of the former postmaster. He ]:)roved a 
very competent anil trustworthy officer, and 
has always had the entire confidence and 
respect of his fellow citizens. 



ASA R. ATCHISOX. 

This energetic and progressive voung 
farmer, whose home is on the line dividing 
Logan and McLean counties, was born in 
the former count}" on the 26th of June, 
1868, and is a worthy representative of one 
of her highlf respected families, being a son 
of George \\'. and Mary A. (Reece) Atchi- 
son, whose sketch appears on amttlier i)age 
of this volume. He received a good prac- 
tical education in the country schools near 
his boyhood home and by assisting in the 
operation of the farm gained an excellent 
knowledge of agricultural pursuits, which 
he decided to make his life work. He has 
given his attention exclusi\-el_\- to farming 
on his own account, and has met with good 
success, now operating a well improved and 
highly cultivated farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres in AIcLean county belonging to 
his father-in-law, Guv H. Tuttle. 



On the 1 8th of February, 1897, Mr. 
.\tchison was united in marriage with Miss 
Hattie May Tuttle, the accomplished daugh- 
ter of Guy H. Tuttle, who is one of At- 
lanta township's most prosperous farmers 
and distinguished citizens. This union has 
been blessed with one child, Guy. In his po- 
litical affiliations Air. Atchison is a Re- 
publican. 



GEORGE W. ATCHISON. 

George \\'. Atchison, deceased, was not 
only one of the ])rominent farmers of Oran 
township, but was also a gallant defender 
of the Union during the dark days of the 
Civil war. He was born in Kentucky, June 
4, 1834. and was a son of Isham S. and 
Alary C. (Crawford) Atchison, who were 
also natives of the Blue Grass state. His 
paternal grandparents came to this country 
from Scotland and first settled in Pennsyl- 
\ania. Isham S. Atchison was born Decem- 
ber 12, 1804, and received a good country 
school education. As soon as old enough 
to handle a plow he commenced work in the 
fields and devoted his life to agricultural 
pursuits, becoming a very successful and ex- 
tensive farmer. He was a capable financier 
and a man of excellent business and exec- 
uti\-e ability, and through his own well di- 
rected efforts became the owner of o\-er one 
thousand acres of fine farming land. He 
was noted for his hospitality, and at his 
death left a host of friends as well as rel- 
atives to mourn his loss. He was one of the 
pioneers of Logan count}-, having accom- 
panied his parents on their removal to this 
localit}- in 1834 and settled near the city of 
Atlanta. In early life he wedded Aliss Alary 
C. Crawford, whose parents, ^^'iIliam and 
Margaret Crawford, were originally from 



572 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Kentucky. Slie was lioni February u, 
1805, and is now deceased. Tliey were the 
parents of eight children, namely : Pauline 
E., now ]Mrs. A. Eskew, who resides in 
Peoria. Illinois; Ji.hn T., David W. and 
Charles \\'.. all residents of Atlanta town- 
ship, this county, and George W., of this 
review. 

It was during the infancy of our sub- 
ject that the family settled in Logan coun- 
ty, and amid pioneer scenes he grew to man- 
hood upon his father's farm, receiving an 
exceptionally good education in the country 
schools of those early days. Pie was fond of 
literature and was a well read man. After 
his marriage, at the age of twenty-three 
years, lie was given two hundred acres -^.f 
land by his father, who presented each of his 
children with a farm, and to the improve- 
ment and cultivation of that place he devoted 
his time and energies until a }-ear prior to 
his death, which occurred April i, iSqt. 
He left a nice estate, including property in 
Atlanta, Ijesides the old homestead in Oran 
townshi]), where his widmv and daughter 
still reside. 

Mr. Atchison was married, April 12, 
1857, to Miss Alary A. Recce, who was Iiorn 
on a farm near .Sjiringtield, Ohio, June 20. 
1837, and came to Illinois in 1840 with her 
parents, Sampscju and Sarah (Foley) 
Reece. Her father, who was an e.\tensi\'e 
farmer of the Buckeye state, died in 1859, 
and her mother departed this life in 1882. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Atchison Were born the 
following children: Pauline Ethleen, the 
oldest, resides with her mother in At- 
lanta: \\'inifield Scott, born November 
30, 1859. died March 14, 1880; Charles 
Henrv, born Fel)ruarv 21, 1862, is li\-ing on 
tlie home place in Oran township; Nellie 
Howe, born .\pril 24, 1865, is the wife nf 
G. \V. Paullin, of Atlanta; Frank Ross, born 



June 26, 1868, died August 8, 1900; Asa 
R., twin brother of Frank R., is represented 
(in aiVither page of this volume ; and Teedie 
T., 1)orn February 3, 1872, died August 16, 
1874 ; Bertha Luella, born February 9, 1875, 
died August 28, 1878: and Edgar Judson, 
born May 6, 1877. 

On the inauguration of the Ci\'il war 
Mr. Atchison laid aside all personal inter- 
ests and in June, 1861, enlisted in the three 
months' ser\-ice. In October, 1862, he re- 
enlisled in Company E, One Hvmdred and 
Si.\th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was 
tippointed corporal of the companv, in which 
capacity he served until honoralily dis- 
charged in February, 1865. Much of his 
time was devoted to guard dutv, and he also 
assisted in caring for the w-ounded soldiers 
as a nurse in the hospital. Later he was an 
honored member of the Grand Army of the 
Rei)uiilic, as well as the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and was a sincere and earn- 
est Christian, holding membership in the 
Methodist cluu'cb. He was regarded as one 
of the best and most influential citizeiis of 
his community, and he commanded the con- 
fidence and respect of all with whom he- 
came in contact either in business or social 

life. 

♦-•-♦ 

WILLIAM BAPST. 

The substantial traits of character in- 
herited from his German ancestry have been 
of in\alual)le benefit to ]\Ir. Bapst in the 
lin.secution of his farming and mercantile 
interests. At present a mercliant at Chest- 
nut, he has a fine Inisiness, and has won the 
Confidence of the communitv Iw his sterling 
integrity and e\-ident desire to please. 

The youth of Mr. Bapst was spent in 
Pike count^•, Ohio, from which countv have 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



573 



come so many gnml citizens O'f Illinois. 
His father, Louis Bapst, was born in Ger- 
many, near the Rhine, in Wnrtemberg, and 
came to America in 1846, settling in Ohio, 
where he farmed and raised stock until his 
■death. He married Elizabeth Brust, who 
was also born in Germany, and came io 
America with her parents when but ten \ears 
of age. ]\]rs. Bapst is still living, and at 
the age of sixty-four is a bright and inter- 
esting lady, and devoted to her children. 
She is making her home with her S(.n in 
Chillicothe, Ohio. Of the seven children 
born to her, all are now living: Mary, wlv:) 
is the wife of Henry Gobelman, of Chest- 
nut ; William; Lena, who is the wife of 
Peter Lowry. of Chillicothe. Ohio : Mar- 
garet, who is the wife of Phillip Rothmyer, 
who lives near Bainbridge, Ross county, 
Ohio: Frank B., wlu) lives in Chillicothe. 
Ohio; Lucy, who is the wife of Christ Rapp, 
■of Pike county, Ohio ; and Adam, who is a 
resident of Chillicothe, Ohio. 

William Bapst passed an uneventful 
youth in Pike countv, Ohio, and attended 
the public schools. He remained on his la- 
ther's farm until i8S_', after which he came 
to Illinois, and worked on a farm in Logan 
■county for four years. Subsequently, in 
1887, he embarked in the mercantile Ijusi- 
ness with his brother-in-law, Henry Gobel- 
man, at Chestnut, the partnership continu- 
ing till the present time. 

In the village of Chestnut, in i8q2, ^Ir. 
Bapst married Magdalen Kichner, who was 
born in Logan county, and is a daughter of 
Christine Richner, and one of three chil- 
dren. Mrs. Bapst was educated in the public 
schools of Logan county, whither lier father 
had remo\-ed from Germany, as did also his 
Avife, who is still living in Logan countv. 
]\Ir. Richner died near Chestnut. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Bapst ha\e been born four chil- 



dren, tw(.) of whom are li\ing, Omar L. and 
Ray AL, while Fonda and Leah are de- 
ceased. Air. Bapst is the possessor of a 
house and six lots in Chestnut, and the firm 
owns one hundred acres of land in Aetna 
township. He is a member of the Alethodist 
church, while his wife affiliates with the Lu- 
theran church. He is a Republican in pol- 
itics, and was postmaster during the admin- 
istration of President Harrison. A public- 
spirited citizen, he enjoys the confidence and 
respect of his town, and numbers many 
friends among the residents (if Chestnut. 



WILLIAAI FUr.SHER. 

.-V very prominent and successful farmer 
of Logan county is William Fulsher. a Ger- 
man 1)\- liirth, Ijut now an _\merican citizen. 
He was born June 21. 1844, and is a son of 
Christian and Hannah (Stroloachj Fulsher, 
Ixith of them being natives of Germany, 
where thev were luarried, not coming to 
America until 1854. Locating in Ohio, the 
father engaged in carpentering and contract- 
ing, and there he died in 1890, after eighty- 
six j-ears of usefulness. The mother is still 
li\ing in \\'averly, Pike county, Ohio. 

A family of seven children was born to 
the parents of our sul)ject, he being the third 
in order of birth, the others being as fol- 
lows : Harmon married Louisa Coonaugh, 
and resides in Petersburg, Indiana. Charles, 
a soldier of the Ci\il war, enlisted in the 
Seventy-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 
serving through iour years. Fie was 
wounded in five places and died from the 
effects of the same in 1867. He married 
Hattie Arnholdt, who resides in Waverly, 
Ohio, with one child. Ferdinand married 
Alary Rlmdy first, and second Alar}- Baker, 
and now lives in Corwin ti^wnsbip on a 



574 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farm, and has seven children. August mar- 
ried Ivlary Fenster and resides at Waverly. 
Sophia naarried Le\i Rli(id\- first, and sec- 
ond Louis Arnholdt, who resides at Emden, 
Ihinois. Annie is married and resides in 
Waverly, Ohio. 

Prior to comintj to the United States Mr. 
Fulsher attended the best of the common 
schools in his native land, but he was only 
ten years of age, in 1854, when his fatlier lo- 
cated in Ohio. There his bnyliood and 
young manhood were spent, attending school 
and assisting his father on the farm, where 
he remained until he was twenty-one years 
old. In 1865 lie came to the state of Illi- 
nois and located in Middletown. where he 
followed agricultural pursuits. 

Mr. Fulsher was married, Xo\'ember 
28. 1868. at Alill Grove, to Miss Basheba 
Baughan, \\'ho was tiorn in Logan county, 
Illinois. March 13, 1845. •'^'i^ ^^'''s a daugh- 
ter of Bearman and Basheba Baughan, and 
after the death of the latter the father mar- 
ried Clara Baughman, and after her death 
he married Jane \'invard. By the first 
union there were born these children : Les- 
ter, who married Jane Martin, and resides 
in Corwin township ; Abraham, who mar- 
ried Helen ^Martin first, and second Etta 
Morris and resides in Lincoln, Illiiiciis: 
Mercy, w1k> married Dutton Marley. both 
now deceased, and li\ed in Logan county; 
Peggy. \\h(i m.nrried Wrishington Grebes, 
both now deceased, and li\ed in Kansas. 
The children of the second marriage were : 
Louisa A., who married Irxine Bell, and re- 
sides in Middlelnwn: Sarah, who married 
Sherman Pearce, and resides in ]\Iarion 
county, Kansas; Basheba, who is the wife 
of our subject; Solomon, wIm died at the 
age of sixteen vears. Three children were 
born to the third marriage, as follows: 
Boda\-ina, who is miw the wife of Robert 



Gallegher, and resides in Nebraska ; Laur- 
ette, who married Uriah \\'endel. and re- 
sides in Corwin township ; and Lizzie, who 
married Alonzo Morris, and resides in York 
county, Nebraska. 

The children born to Air. and Mrs. 
I'ulsher were: Emma, born February 26, 
1871, married Herman Brail, resides near 
Mount Pulaski, and has three children ; 
Elizabeth, born October 23, 1872, married 
George Beaver, resides in Burt county, 
Nebraska, and has six sons; William H., 
born February i, 1874, married Minnie 
Steinhour, resides in ^\'est Lincoln t<iwn- 
ship, and has one daughter ; Charles, born 
No\ember 28. 1876, married Lauretta 
Booth, and resides in Burt county, Nebras- 
ka ; Lewis, born April 2-j. 1882, assists his 
father on the farm; Effie, born November 
18, 1885; and Clarence L., born May 13, 
1888, are both at home. 

.\fter his marriage Mr. Fulsher moved 
to Sheridan township, but later went to what 
is known as Scully's Prairie, between Harts- 
burg and Emden, Illinois, and for seven 
years was one of the industrious citizens of 
tint locality. Then he mo\'ed into Corwin 
township, where he Ixiught one hundred and 
sixty-six acres of land in section 10, and 
since that time he has been one of the most 
energetic and successful farmers of the 
townsliip, his comfortable surroundings and 
well cultivated fields testifying to his effi- 
ciencv as a farmer. \Mien ^vlr. Fulsher 
bought his farm it was all timber and was 
far removed from neighbors. All his trad- 
ing was done in Lincoln. During the inter- 
vening years he has been an industrious and 
frugal man, has cleared the land and put 
it into a fine state of productiveness and 
richly deserves the high esteem in which he 
is held by his neighbors. 

Mr. Fulsher is a Democrat in politics 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



575 



and has Ijeen acti\e in ])arty wurk, altliougli 
lie lias never consented to liold any office 
except tliat of school director. Fraternally 
he is connected with the Indeiiendent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and the family attend the 
German Lutheran chm-ch of Lincoln. 



ALBERT .VMRENS. 

The t^rocerv and qcneral merchanclise 
store conducted b}' ]\Ir. .\hrens in Chestnut 
is a d'istinct success, and has proved a 
.Source of satisfaction and rexenue to its en- 
terprising manager and owner. In catering 
to tlie public he uses discretion and good 
judgment. f|ualities ap])reciated in all de- 
];artntents nf business life. .\n lllinoisan 
in every sense of the word, ]Mr. Alirens was 
born in Logan county November 25, 1869, 
and is a son of Jtibn .\hrens, who was born 
in Ilano\-er, (iermanx". and emigrated to the 
L'nited States in the early '50s. After set- 
tling in Logan county he for a time worked 
on a farm, eventually locating in Lincoln, 
where lie engaged in mercantile pursuits, 
and where he still lives, now retired. He 
married Dora .Vwe, and of this union there 
were seven children, of whom onl\' two are 
still living, riur subject, and \\'illiam, now 
a resident of Lincoln. The mother emi- 
grated to .\merica frcni (iermany alxmt 
]86o. and of her nine brothers and sisters 
all are li\ing in Logan county, with the ex- 
ception of John Awe. who died in 1901. in 
Lincoki, Illinois. 

^Mbert Ahrens was educated in the 
graded schools of Linc<jln, and during his 
younger years also assisted his father in his 
work on the farm. When twenty-six years 
of age he left home and started his present 
business in the village of Chestnut in De- 



cember, 1896. having bought the building 
he now occupies, and here carries on a suc- 
cessful business. He has seen considerable 
of the wiirld, ha\ing taken a trip to Cah- 
fornia in 189 r, thinking that possibly he. 
might in the future make that his home. 
However, he found ni> inducements su- 
perior to those offered in the state of his- 
liirth. 

.\fter retm-ning to IlHuciis he married, 
December 29, 1892, Carrie Schaffenacker, 
daughter i:>f George and Katherine Scliaf- 
fenacker and a sister of Louis Schaft'enack- 
er. wliose l)iograph\' appears in this work. 
She was burn in Chestnut in i8(iS, and is 
one in a family of eleven children. To Mr. 
and Airs, .\hrens have been born two chil- 
dren, Ojga. who was born Xovember (3, 
1895, '"''•' Annie, wln.i was l.)orn October 8, 
1897. The parents are members of the' Lu- 
theran church at Chestnut, of which Mr. 
.\hrens is the treasurer. 



ED\MX C. PERKIXS. 

Among the leading and ])rr;minent at- 
tornevs of Lincoln is Edwin C. Perkins, who 
is now ser\iiig as master in chancerv. He 
was born in Braxton county, \\ est \'ir- 
ginia, Alav i. 1860, and is a son of Enoch 
and Eliza ( Salisbury ) Perkins, also natives 
of that ci;unty. His paternal grandfather 
was .\ndrew Perkins, who was born in Vir- 
ginia of Scotch descent, and his maternal 
grandfather was Thomas Salisbury, who 
was of German lineage. The latter was 
connected with the Strong family, which 
was of Puritan stock and was rejiresenteJ 
in the Revolutionary war. In 1865, at the 
close of the Civil war, Enoch Perkins left 
his old hiime in West \'iruinia and came to 



576 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lincoln, Illinois, where he spent some years, 
but is now living a retiretl life in ^\'ymore, 
Nebraska. His wife is also living. By oc- 
cupation he was formerly a farmer. 

]\lr. Perkins, of this review, was only a 
small child when brought by his parents to 
this coimt}-, and in its district schools he 
acquired his primary education. He assisted 
his father in the work of the home farm un- 
til eighteen years of age. In 1883 '^^ began 
teaching school in this count v, and for si.K 
years devoted his attention to tli.u pursuit 
through the winter months, while during 
the summer season he continued to engage 
in farming. The following year he took a 
teacher's course at the Indiana Normal 
School. He commenced the study of lavv- 
in 1885, and was admitted to the bar No- 
vember 22. 1889, at Mt. A'ernon, Illinois. 
In the spring of the following year he lo- 
cated in Lincoln, and has since successfulh- 
engaged in practice at this place. Soon after 
his arrival he was elected justice of the peace 
and ably filled that office for eight years. In 
1891 he was elected city attorney, in which 
capacity he ser\ed two years, and has been 
master in chancerv since 1897. 

On the 28th of January, 1891, INIr. Pc- 
kins was united in marriage with ]\Iiss 
Joseijhine Niebauhr, of Emden, Logan coun- 
ty, a daughter of Sinum and Franciscri 
(Necum) Niebauhr, and bv this union were 
l)orn four children : Marguerite, Rollo R., 
Lionel S. and Helen. 

In his political \iews Air. Perkins is a 
stanch Republican, and in 1896 was a mem- 
ber ot the countv central comnnttee. He is 
a member of Lodge No. 210, ]•". & A. ~S\.: 
Chapter No. 147, R. A. M. ; Constantine 
Commandery, No. 51, K.. T. : and th.c 
Temple of the ]\[ystic Shrine. As an at- 
torney he ranks among the foremost law- 
yers of Logan county, and as a citizen he is 



progressive and public-spirited, giving his 
support to all enterprises calculated to ad- 
vance the oeiieral welfare. 



WILLIAM NVCU.M. 

For many }ears William Nycum was 
actively identified with the business interests 
of Lincoln, and by his untiring industrv and 
sountl judgment has won a merited success, 
which now enal)les him to lay aside all busi- 
ness cares and spend his declining years in 
ease and retirement. He is a native of the 
Keystone state, his birth ha\ing occurred 
u]ion a farm in Bedford county, Pennsyl- 
vania, April 22. 1825. His father, John 
N}'cuni. was born in the same state, and was 
a son of Leonard Nycum. who was of Ger- 
man (lescent. Through(.iut life the father 
fi.illowed the occupation of farming. He 
married Miss Elizabeth Gains, who was born 
near the Antietam river, in Maryland, and 
was a daughter of Charles Gains. 

Din"ing his binhood William Nycum 
was onl\' able to attend schoi.il for three 
months during the winter season. At an 
earh' age he commenced learning the car- 
penter's trade, and continued to follow that 
pursuit throughout the greater part of his 
active Inisiness life. In 1855 he came to 
Logan county. Illinois, and made his home 
near Elkhart, working at his trade for some 
fifteen vears. 

I\Ir. N\-cum was married in October, 
1861, to Miss .\nn;i J. Stollard, who was 
born in Ross county, Ohio, and came to 
Logan county, Illinois, in 1853. They have 
one daughter living, the youngest of six 
children born to them: Sally E., at home. 
After his marriage ]\Ir, N}-cum removed to 
Lincoln, in 1862, where he engaged in car- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



579 



jientering- and Inntse moving, devoting his 
attention to the latter Jjusiness for about ten 
years. He has met witli excellent success in 
all his undertakings, and is to-day the owner 
of some ^■aluable real estate, having two 
good farms in Corwin township, one of one 
hundred and sixty acres, the other of two 
hundred and fortv acres. He also owns a 
half interest in a tract of nne hundred and 
twentv acres in this Cduntx'. and has three 
hundred and twenty acres in Saline and 
Phelps counties, Xehraska. all of which is 
well imi)roved and is now rented. Besides 
this propertv ]Mr. Xycum owns sixteen acres 
of land subdivided into town lots within the 
corporate limits of Lincoln. Cijming to the 
Mest as he did, a young man Avithout cap- 
ital, he deserves great credit fiir his suc- 
cess in life. He has made the most of his 
•opportunities, and by straightforward, hon- 
orable dealing has accumulated a handsome 
property. His life illustrates what can be 
accomplished thn^ugh industr}-, persever- 
ance, good management and a determination 
to succeed. Although now seventy-six years 
of age, he is still hale and hearty and is able 
to look after his business affairs. 



THOMAS R. PATTISOX. 

Thomas R. Pattison, who has devoted 
his entire life to the trade of carpentering 
and is a venerable and honored citizen of 
Chestnut, was born in Indiana I^Vlarcli ii, 
J 827, and is a son of William Pattison, who 
was bom in Kentucky in 1770, and of Han- 
nah ( Lsgrigg) Pattison, also a native of 
Kentucky, born in 1778. The parents were 
Jiiarried in the Blue Grass state and lived 
there until their removal to Indiana in prac- 
ticall}- the dawn of the nineteenth century. 



They reared to usefulness a family of nine 
children, namelv; Fletcher, who died in 
^Missouri at the age of se\'enty-six : Daniel, 
who died in Logan county, Illinois, at the 
age of sixty; William, who resided in Stark 
county, Illinois, and died when si.xty years 
of age ; John, who lived to be twenty-six 
xears of age: Michael, who died in Indian- 
apolis. Indiana, at the age of sixty; Mar- 
garet J., who is the wife of Sample Lofton, 
and li\es in Indianapolis; Thomas R. ; 
George, who died in 1851; and Caliph M., 
who is twin to George, and li\-es at Hil- 
dreth, Edgar county, Illinois. 

Thomas Pattison was educated in the 
district schools iif Indiana, and in early life 
learned the trade of carpenter. On July 
10. 185J. lie took a life jiartner in Lod\-iska 
Clark, and to them has been born one child, 
Alice C, will) is the witlow of Sylvester 
]\Iyrick. Mrs. Myrick is the mother of five 
children : Cora, who is now the wife of 
John Downing; Ezra, who is a resident of 
Chestnut ; Bertram, who lives with his 
mother ; Lucretia, deceased ; Dane and Dean, 
at home. Though seventy-four years of age 
>\Ir. Pattison is hale and heartv. and capable 
of turning out a satisfactory day's work. 
He is a conscientious and painstaking me- 
chanic, and gives satisfaction wherever em- 
ployed. ]\Ianv <if the earlv buildings in 
Chestnut and vicinity were built by him 

An additional credit to his otherwise 
useful life is his service during the Civil war, 
lie having enlisted first, in 1861, in Company 
H, Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and 
after three months' service returned home 
and enlisted in Ciim])any E, One Hundred 
and .Sixth Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, and 
served during his first enlistment under Col- 
onel Cook, of Springfield, and later under R. 
B. Latham. During the march of Sherman 
to the sea. he was in Arkansas and Texas, 



58o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and during liis entire service saw very little 
serious tighting. In tiie One Hundred and 
Sixth Mr. Pattison went out as a second lieu- 
tenant, and went to Little Rock, .\rkansas. 
and later was at Shrevesix>rt, after which 
he returned to Little Rock. He was with his 
regiment in front of Vicksburg all through 
that siege, after which he was promoted to 
first lieutenant, and served as such through 
.Arkansas and Texas until, on account of ill 
l;ealth, he was forced to resign in 1864. 
.\fter the war he returned to Illinois, where 
he has since li\-ed, surrounded by many 
friends, and the good wTIl of the entire com- 
munity. He is now a member of Charles 
Mixtre Post. G. .\. R.. of Chestnut. 



WILLIAM RIMKRMAX. 

One of the leading farmers and success- 
ful men of West Lincoln township, Logan 
county, is William Rimerman. who resides 
on section 29. He was born in Brunswick, 
Germany, in 1829. and was educated in the 
common schcx^ls of that country. In 1845 
liis father, Frederick Rimerman. brought the 
family, consisting of himself, five brothers 
and sisters and mother, to .America. 

L])on reaching this country the family 
landed in Xew Orleans, whence they went Lo 
St. Louis and a few days later to Mason 
county. Illinois, where they resided for alxiut 
twenty years. They 'then removed to Logan 
county, where the father ilied in 1880, aged 
eighty-eight years. His wife dietl about 
twenty-three years ago. .At the time of the 
death of the father five of his six children 
were alive, but how only William and 
Adolph survive. 

William Rimerman U)ca'ed in Logan 
countv. Il]in<MS, in iSf);. and purchased one 



hundred and si.xty acres of land, for which 
he paid twenty-five dollars an acre. There 
was a house upon the farm, and he has since 
greatly imi)roved the property until now he 
has one of the finest farms in West Lin- 
coln township. He has added to it from 
time to time and now owns al>jut fourteen 
hundred acres. 

In 1 85 1 Mr. Rimerman was married to 
Miss "Mary Deverman and they have four 
children, two sons and two daughters, name- 
ly : Frank : .Annie, who is the wife of 
.\dolph Schrader. of West Lincoln town- 
ship: Herman: Alary, who is the wife of 
Frank Kiest. of West Lincoln township. 
Mr. Rimerman is a Republican, but has never 
taken an active part in politics, although he 
served very acceptably as road commissioner 
for eighteen years and as a member of the 
school board for twenty years. He and his 
family are consistent memljers of the St. 
John's Evangelical church of Lincoln, and 
always give a liberal support to every worthy 
enterprise. Air. Rimerman is nearly seventy- 
two years of age, and in the township where 
he has made his home for so long he is 
highly esteemed, not only as one of the old- 
est citizens, but also as a kind-hearted, 
genial, hospitable man who has many friends 
on every side, and who has earned his pres- 
ent enviable ])(!sition by his own efforts. 



SCOTT L.WTERMAX. 

Scott Lanterman, deceased, was born -n 
Sangamon county, Illinois, April 11, 1848, 
and was a son of Peter and Dolly A. 
(Lightfoot) Lanterman. Peter Lanterman 
was born in Fleming county. Kentucky, 
Septeml)er 4. 1817. and his wife was Iwrn in 
.\dair countv. that state. Februarv q, 1820. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



581 



lie removed to Sangamon county, Illinois, 
with his parents and there he was married 
Decemher 6. 1838. He followed the occupa- 
tion of farming, and in i860 he and his wife 
came to Logan count)', Illinois, where lie 
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
land, and lived until his death, which oc- 
curred October 9, 1876. His wife died Jan- 
uary 6, 1883. Ti ■ them were born ti\e chil- 
dren who grew tO' maturity, as follows; 
John H. married Belle Dunham, both now 
deceased, and they resided in Elkhart. Illi- 
nois; Susan J. is the wife of Jacol) 'S'ncum. 
and they reside in Sangamon county, near 
Williamsville. on a farm; Scott was the next 
of the familv ; foseph married Lizzie Con- 
stant, both now deceased, and they lived ii 
Elkhart township, Logan county; James W. 
is married and resides in Wetzel, Michigan. 
The Lanterman family came originally 
from England to Kentucky, as did also the 
Lightfoot family, and both were among the 
pioneer settlers of that state. Captain John 
Lightfoot. the brother of our subject's 
mother, ttxik part in the war of the Revolu- 
tion under General Washington. 

Scott Lanterman attended the district 
school and he later went to the uni\-ersity at 
Lincoln, where he remained until he was 
twentv-fi\e. .\t this time he returned home 
and worked with his' father until the latter":-, 
death. .Vfter his marriage Mr. Lanterman 
removed to the farm now occupied by his 
widow on section ;^2. Elkhart township, 
where he died ( n February 12. 1895. and 
his remains were interred in Elkhart cem- 
etery. He was (Jtie of those noble-hearted 
men who win friends wherever they go. and 
his demise was mourned as a public calam- 
ity. During his life he had been a strong 
Republican, and was honored with all the 
local offices, which he held to the entire sat- 
isfaction (it ;dl his constituents. Socialb- 



he was an active member of the Masonic 
fraternity, and he attended the Methodist 
church and always gave liberally of his 
means to all worth}- enterprises. }ilucli 01 
the prosperity of the tOAvnship is due to hi.-; 
public spirit an'd enterprise, and he will long 
be remembered as one of the representative 
men of Logan county. 

On August 18, 1882. at the Leach home- 
stead in Logan county. Scott Lanterman 
was married to Miss Hulda Leach, the ac- 
ci.mplished daughter of Daniel and Sarah 
(Talbut) Leach. Her father was born jk 
Xew York March 9, 182 1. and his wife was 
a native of Pennsylvania. They were mar- 
ried in Xew York and removed to Illinois 
in 1841). Tli,ey located near Springfield, 
on a farm, and later came to Logan county 
and settled in Elkhart township. Here 
Daniel Leach accumulated two hundred and 
fortv acres of land, which has become very 
valuable. Pie held all of the local offices, 
was a Republican in politics and attended 
the Baptist church. His death occurred on 
March 17, 1879, and his wife died in June,. 
1866. To them were iDorn fi\e children, 
namelv ; ]\lary, who married Daniel Wood 
aiid resides near Bartlett, North Dakota; 
Backus, who married Lydia Osborn and re- 
sides in Jackson, Minnesota; Abbie, who 
married Benjamin Bishop and resides near 
Lucas, Iowa ; and Hulda, wliO' is Airs. 
Lanterman. 

Airs. Lanterman was born in Logan 
countv .Xovember 5, 1858, and was well ed- 
ucated in the common schools of the district. 
She was a teacher in this and Sangamon 
counties, and is a lady of excellent qualities 
and good judgment. Since the death of her 
busliand she has managed the affairs of his 
estate in a remarkalily satisfactory and suc- 
cessful manner, and her children are grow- 
ing up into fine men. showing forth in their 



582 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lives the result of a good mother's training" 
and example. Among her neighhors and 
friends Mrs. Lanterman is great!)' behivctl 
for her kind, gentle qualities and charity, 
and in the Baptist church, of which she has 
been a member since the age of sixteen, she 
is a UKTSt active and efficient worker. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lan- 
terman are as follows : Robert, who was 
liorn May 6, 1882. and is at home managing 
the farm fur his mother: William K.. born 
^March 30, 1884; Earl L., born March 20, 
1887: Richard O., born September 5, 1889; 
Howard S., born August 13, 1892; and 
^\'inhe]d Raymond, born April 2j. 1895. 



PHILAXDER SIMCOE. 

Farming in Logan county, Illinois, has 
proved a profitable and pleasant venture for 
Philander Simcoe, who was born in Pike 
county, tliis state, on the 8th of February, 
1844. His father, Larkin B. Simcoe, was 
a nati\e cf King and Queen county, A'ir- 
■ginia, and in early manhood married Miss 
Martha A. Howe\-, who was born in West 
Virginia in 1820, and came to Illinois at an 
earlv age with her parents, the family set- 
tling in Pike countv, where she was mar- 
ried. There Larkin B. .Simcoe died prior ti> 
1850. He had four children, ime of whom 
■died in infancy. The others are Catherine, 
wife of George Foreman, of Piatt county, 
Illinois: Philander, of this review: and 
Jonathan, a resident of Finne\' cnunty, Kan- 
sas. For her second husband the mother of 
these children married Absalom Foreman, 
and about 1865 tiiey removed to Aetna town- 
ship, Liigan count\', where Mr. Fiiremau 
died the same year. In 1886 she went to 
Finne\' countv, Kansas, where she made her 



home until her death, which occurred in 
April, i8(;7. By her second marriage she 
also had fnur children, namely : Sarah, now 
Mrs. Arthur Simes : Martha J., wife of John 
Splaine : Absalom C: and Lutilla. wife of j 
Thomas Cunningham. 

Into an otherwise une\'entful v<.>uth came 
the opportunit\- for Philander Simcoe to 
enter the service of his country tluring the 
tlark da\s nf the Ci\il war. At Louisiana, 
Missouri, he enlisted February 12, 1862, as 
a private in Company B, First Infantry, 
[Missouri State ^Militia, under Captain 
Lonergan ami Colonel J( hn B. Grav, and 
was later promoted to corporal. He was ni 
the service three years, and was honorably 
discharged on the 7th of .\pril, 18O5. With 
the return of peace he took up his resilience 
in Pike county, Illinois, but soon afterward 
came to Logan county, where for a time he 
worked as a farm hand. He then engaged 
in farming on his c>wn acc<;unt. and as time 
pasjjcd he steadily prospered in his under- 
takings and is to-day one of the successful 
agriculturists of his communitw In his 
home place he has one hundred and five 
acres of rich and arable land in Aetna town- 
ship, and also owns another farm of one 
hundred and thirt_\-hve acres in the same 
ti wnship, while his wife has forty acres in 
her own right and a dower right in one hun- 
tlred and twenty acres. 

On the loth of February, 1881, Air. 
Simcoe was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Elizabeth W. Dawson, a native of this coun- 
t\-, and a daughter of Daniel and Lorinda 
( Marcourt ) Pattison. Her father was born 
in Kentucky, but at an early age went to 
Indiana, where he married Miss Harcourt. 
In 1849 they came to Logan county, Illi- 
nois, and settled in what is now Aetna town- 
ship, where for many years yir. Pattison op- 
erated the mill at what was then known as 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



58J 



Yankeetown. He and Iiis wife bnth died 
there. Airs. Simcoe first married Cal\in 
Dawsdii, who died leaving one dangliter, 
Eva C now the wife of Jolm Fortman, of 
Lincoln. Illinois. L'nto ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Sim- 
coe were born five children, namely : Her- 
man Leroy, who is a gradnate'of the Spring- 
field Business College ; Alice and Martha, 
who are now attending the Lincoln high 
school: and Raymond and Alildred, who are 
students in the Imme school. 

As a stanch Republican Mr. Simcoe has 
taken a very active and influential part in 
the political affairs of his township, and has 
been honored ^\■itl^ a numljer (jf local of- 
fices, including- those of school director, road 
commissioner and collector. For twelve 
years, ending in 1899, he efificientiv ser\ed 
as supervisor and \\-as a member of various 
important committees. In 1899 he was 
chairman of the board and was always one 
of its most prominent members. He is con- 
nected w ith the Grand Army of the Repul.i- 
lic. Ijeing a member of Leo W. ]M)-ers Post, 
Xo. 1S2, of Lincoln. 



JAAIES BAKER. 



ty. He early ex'inced commendalDle business 
ability, which found vent in his earliest 
\ears in a gradual accpiring of a knowledge 
of his father's business, until he is to-day one 
of the expert l)rick men of the countv. 

Xot only is Air. Baker one of the reliable 
and progressive business men of the place, 
but he is identified widi social and general 
undertakings represented in Chestnut. His 
l^leasant home is presided over by Mrs. 
Baker, who was formerly Cordelia Harp,, 
who was born in Ohio May 9, 1853, a 
daughter of Levi and Mary (Everly ) Harp, 
and one in a family of five children. The 
marriage of Mr. Baker and Aliss Harp oc- 
curred February 25, 1869, and of this union 
there are the following children, namely : 
\\'illard B.. Rosa, John F., Ezra and Nora. 
Five children are deceased. The children 
have been educated in the public schools, are 
bright and interesting", and are a credit to 
their admirable home training. Air. Baker 
is esteemed jjy all who know him, and stands 
high in the community as a business man 
and citizen. In politics he is a Republican. 

Air. Harp died in 1854, and in 1S55 the 
mother with her family came to this lo- 
calit}-. later marrying Pike Cantrel, and 
here lived till her death, in 1894. 



The name of Baker will ever be asso- 
ciated with one of the most substantial in- 
dustries in Chestnut, namely, the manufact- 
iu.-ing of brick. The lousiness here owes its 
origin to that pioneer brick man and splen- 
did citizen, Sanuiel Baker, who came here 
after a meritorious service during the Civil 
war, and, beginning on a small scale, so con- 
ducted his afl'airs that the present fine enter- 
l)rise, now managed by his sons. James and 
Frank, is the result. James Baker was born 
in Logan county, Illinois, in 1849. and ^^'^s 
educated in the public schools of this coun- 



SAMUEL BAKER. 



Logan county owes a debt of gratitude- 
to Samuel Baker, who, though practicallv 
retired from acti\e business life, has occu- 
pied an enviable place in the commercial and 
social life of Chestnut since shortly after 
the close of the Civil war. At present sev- 
enty-five years of age, he is still active and 
in the full possession of his splendid facul- 
ties, a worthy example of correct living and 



584 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



well ajiplied industrv. The brick Inisiness 
with which his name will al\va_\s he asso- 
ciated has grown from a comparatixely 
small beginning to its present large propor- 
tions, and although he has ostensibly stepped 
aside and accorded his place of manager '.o 
his sons, James and Frank, he is still a rec- 
ognized force in the conduct of the business, 
and a wise consellor to whom it is pleasant 
and profitable to listen. 

Ohio, which has produced so many ca- 
pable men, and sent them forth on various 
missions in ditYerent parts of the country, 
was also the birthplace of Mr. Baker, his 
natal day being March 14, 1826. His fa- 
ther, Henry Baker, was born in I'ennsyl- 
vania and died m Allen count}-, Ohio, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1854. His wife, Mary Binkley, 
died in Allen county October 2, 1879, at the 
age of eighty-eight years. 

Samuel Baker was educated in the Buck- 
eye state and there reared to manhood, and 
in 1844 remo\-ed to Springfield, Illinois, 
from which he departed after a year for 
Logan county. He here ran a mill for 
about eleven years, and was afterward en- 
gaged in different occupations until the 
breaking out of the Civil war. In 1862 he 
enlisted for three years in Company E, One 
Hundred and Si.xth Illinois \"olunteer In- 
fantry, and took part in the attack on the 
Mississippi river just below Vicksburg, and 
was also in the siege of Vicksburg, besides 
many other Ijattles and skirmishes. In fact 
he saw the w ar through tO' a finish, and was 
lionoralily discharged in 1865. 

After the war he came to Chestnut and 
started the brick business as heretofore 
stated, and lias since been identified with 
the most substantial and couservati\e 
growth of his locality. He is the possessor 
of a well cultivated farm of fortv acres, 
owns a crmifcrtable brick house, and has be- 



sides considerable t<iwn property. A Re- 
iniblican in national politics, he has held 
\arious responsible politiical positions, in- 
cluding that of school director for many 
years, always with credit to himself and the 
communit\- w hose interests he made his own. 
He is also a member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, Charles Moore Post, No. 725, 
of Chestnut, of which he has been surgeon 
for many years. 

In 1 84 1 Mr. Baker married Mary Rip- 
le\', and of tliis union there were five chil- 
dren, two of whom are living, James and 
Frank, who are the present managers of 
their father's business. Mrs. Baker died 
January 4, 1882, and in 1884 Mr. Baker was 
united in marriage w ith Sarah Gerhard, who 
was l>orn in Schuylkill county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and came to Illinois in 18S3. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Baker have been born three chil- 
dren ; Charles, born in 1885; Edwin, bora 
in 1886: and Benjaiuin Harrison, born Sep- 
teml)er i, 1888. 

Frank Baker, the second son by his fa- 
ther's first marriage, was born in Logan 
C( unty. Illinois, July 15, 1858. He was ed- 
ucated in the public schools, and when \-ery 
young liecame familiar with the brick busi- 
ness and learned the same under his father's 
capable instruction. He assumed his pres- 
ent position with the firm in 1889, and is 
one of the managers of the only brick man- 
ufacturing- concern in Chestnut. The brick 
made is a hand product, and its manufact- 
urers and the public in general claim for it 
man_\- su])eriorities o\-er the comnmn run of 
the commodity as made elsewhere. Mr. 
Baker married Minnie Burrus, a daughter 
of James Burrus, who is a resident of Lin- 
coln, Logan county, Illinois. This marriage 
occurred in 1883, and of this union there 
are n\e children: Emma, born in 1883; 
Da\-id, born in 1885 ; Richard, born in 1887; 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



585 



iMartha, Irorn in 1889; and Engene. born mi 
1896. Air. Baker is a Republican in pol- 
itics, and lias ser\e<l for tbree years as a 
school director. With his family, he at- 
tends the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
is one of the forceful and energetic business 
men of Chestnut, and is making a fine suc- 
cess of his business. 

James Baker married Cordelia Harp and 
to them have been born five children, who 
are li\-ing: ^\'illard, Frank, Rosa, Ezra and 
Nora. 



JOHN J. COSSITT. 

Jdhn J. Cossitt, assistant cashier of the 
Lincdln Xational Bank at Lincoln, Illinuis, 
was born in that city on the jyl of January, 
1869, and since attaining to man's estate has 
been prominently identified with her lousi- 
ness interests. His father, Chauncey Mar- 
cus Cossitt, was burn in Clayville, New 
York March 13, 1833, 'i son of Chauncey P. 
and Elizabeth H. Cossitt. ^^'llen President 
Lincnln issuecl his first call for seventv-fi\'e 
tliousand men to assist in putting down the 
rebellion Chauncey M. Cossitt enlisted, and 
faithfully served his country until the close 
I if the war. After his discharge from the 
army he came to Lincoln, and was success- 
fully engaged in mercantile business at this 
place until his retirement fmm acti\-e Ijusi- 
ness. In early manhood he married Miss 
Mary Tappan. who was born in Manchester, 
Massachusetts, Augiist 2, 1833, and is a 
daughter of Samuel and Xancy Tappan. 
She is still living, but her husband died in 
Lincoln May 25, 1 894. 

Mr. Cossitt, of this review, spent the 
days of his b(jyho(.(I and }'outh in the ci'y 
of his birth, attending' the public schools, 
and he completed his education in the Lin- 



coln high school. He began his business 
career as an emplo\e of the Central Union 
Telephone Com])any, and served them for 
five years in various capacities up to the po- 
sition of manager. In 1888 he accepted the 
position of messenger and collector in the 
Lincoln National Bank ; was subsec^uently 
promoted to bookkeeper ; still later to teller, 
and on the ist of January, 1901, was made 
assistant cashier. He is also one of the 
owners and managers of the Broadway 
theatre, and is one of the most enterprising 
and energetic business men of Lincoln. 

On the 19th of November, 1896, Mr. 
Cossitt was united in marriage with Miss 
Maude E. Houser, of Lincoln, a daughter of 
Dr. W. W. and Mar\- (Oliver) Houser. 
Her father is one of the prominent phvsi- 
cians of the city. Politically Mr. Cossitt is 
identified with the Republican partv. Both 
in business and .social circles he is quite pop- 
ular, being a courteous, genial gentleman, 
and he well deserves the high regard in 
which he is held. Mr. and Mrs. Cossitt are 
members of Trinit_\- Episcopal church, of 
which he is one of (he vestrymen and also 
treasurer of tlie diocese iif Springfield. , 



HENRY WIEMER. 

Heiu'v \\ iemer, a prominent farmer of 
Prairie Creek township and owner of one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, known as 
the old W'iemer homestead, was born in this 
county .\ugust j6, 1862, and is a son of 
15enhard and Charlotte (Cramer) W'iemer, 
Ix;th nati\'es of Germany. In that country 
the mother first married ^\'illiam Reaper, 
with whom she came to America in 1854, 
but her husband died of cholera during the 
trip up the J^Iississippi river soon after 



586 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



reaching; tlie United States. Tlieir daugh- 
ter INIarv (hed of the same (h'ead disease 
\vhile cros.sing tlie ocean. ]\Irs. Reaper was 
thus left alone, a stranger in a strange land, 
with no one to aid her. She was in delicate 
health at the time, and a son, ^\'illiam, was 
born soon after her arrival here. He died 
later. She suhsecjuently married Benhard 
\\'iemer, wlm A\as born in Prussia, Ger- 
many, and came to America in 1852, locat- 
ing first in Pennsylvania, where he worked 
in the coal mines, Imt after five years spent 
there he remo\-ed to Havana. Illinois, ami 
was employed in a grain elevator there for 
some time. Later, embarking in farming 
near Havana, he remained there until 1862, 
when he settled on the farm whicli iiur sub- 
ject now occupies, and remained here until 
1899, when he remo\'ed to San Jose, his 
present home. The mother died in 1896. 

Fi^•e children were ijorn to them, name- 
ly : Albert, who is now li\-ing in Prairie 
Creek township ; Charles, who resides in 
San Jose and owns and operates a large ele- 
vator at Harness ; Lizzie, wife of John 
Theobald, who resides in ]kIason county, 
Illinois; Henry, our subject: and Fred, who 
died young. All were given gc:iod common- 
school educations, supplemented with 
courses at various colleges. 

Our subject remained upon the old fanu, 
taking care of his parents in their latter 
years and operated his father's farm. He 
now owns the old homestead of one hundred 
and sixty acres on section 21, and also op- 
erates another farm of eightv acres which 
belongs to the heirs of his father's estate. 

In politics he is a Republican, for one 
year held the position of township clerk, and 
is now school director, having held the lat- 
ter ofifice for four vears. Sociallv he is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias of Em- 
den, and of the Modern \\'oodmen of Amer- 



ica at San Jose. Illinois. He is a very in- 
telligent citizen of the township, and is a 
good representative of the progressive farm- 
er of today, who keeps well posted on cur- 
rent events and is well calculated to lead in 
local politics. Judging his future by the 
light of the past, there are many honors in 
store for Mr. ^^'iemer, not only in the town- 
ship, ])ut in broader fields, where it is safe 
to predict that the same public spirit, clear 
judgment and honorable dealing in every 
particular which have characterized his ac- 
tions in the days gone by will make him 
equallv successful in carrying out the wishes 
of the people who place their trust in his 
integrity and ability. 



WILLI AAI JOHNSTON. 

Prominent among the wealthy and in- 
fluential farmers of Logan county is this 
well-known resident of Aetna township, 
w ho has done much toward the de\elopment 
of the agricultural resources of this section 
of the state. He was born in the north of 
Ireland alx)ut 1835, and received but a lim- 
ited education in the schools of his native 
land. About 1850 he einigrated to Amer- 
ica and located near Quebec, Canada, where 
for aljout six vears he worked in the 
pineries. 

Upon coming to the United States in 
1856 Mr. Johnston lived for a time in Pike 
county, Illinois, where he was engaged in 
clearing land along the railroad tracks for 
so nuich per acre. He later engaged in farm 
work by the month, but after spending one 
}-ear in Pike county he came to Logan coun- 
ty and leased eighty acres of land in Aetna 
township, which he operated for about five 
years. Meeting with success in his chosen 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



587 



(iccupalicju, he was tlien aljle to purchase a 
quarter-section of land on section 7, tlie 
same t' >\\ nship. \vhich he at once ciimmenced 
to improve and culti\-ate. In 1866 !:e also 
l)ought live acres of timber land, for which 
he ])aid one hundred dollars per acre, and as 
lumber was hard tij ol;)tain he used his tim- 
ber to make rails for fences and for the 
erection of his house and barns. Being in- 
dustrious, economical and persevering, he 
has steadily prospered in his farming opera- 
tions, and to his original purchase he has 
added until he ncAv has two thousand acres 
of land in Logan county, all (if which is in 
Aetna township, with the exception of 
eighty acres in Chester and six hundred and 
forty acres in East Lincoln townshi]). He is 
the largest indi\idual land owner residing 
in Aetna ti iwnship. He also owns a section 
of land in \\''oodburv county. Iowa. .\I- 
though he is ol)liged to employ many men in 
carr\'ing i:in his farms, he is still acti\-elv en- 
gaged in their operation, and none can turn 
out a mi)re satisfactory clay's' work. 

Mr. Johnstim has been twice married, 
liis first wife Ijemg Miss Rosa Armstrong, 
to wiicm lie was married in 1853. and by 
that uniiin fi^ur children were borii, but twii 
died in childhood, antl all are now deceased. 
The wife and mother departed this life in 
1864. On the lijth of June, 18(36, Mr. 
Jiihnston was united in marriage with Miss 
Margaret Irvine, of ^Montreal, Canada, whii 
was alsii born in the north of Ireland and 
emigrated to Canada when fifteen years of 
age. The children burn of this union are 
Alexander: Katherine ]., nnw the wife nf 
Herman Randolph, ' of ; Aetna township ; 
Thomas : Belle, wife of Thomas M. Harris, 
of Lincoln, Illinois; George; May; Sue; and 
Edna. The unmarried children are all li\- 
ing at home. Appreciating- the value of a 
g'ood education, Mr. Johnston has given his 

31 



children the best possible advantages along 
that line, being students at either Lincoln 
or W'esleyan Uni\'ersities, 

In his political views Mr. Johnston is a 
Republican, and he has been called upon to 
fill the offices i>f highway commissioner and 
school director. • He is a member of and 
acti\-e wtirker in the Methodist Episcopal 
church at Harmony, of which he is a trus- 
tee, and contributes liberally toward the 
maintenance of the same. In other matters 
also he may be depended upon for liberal 
suppi.irt, as he ne\er withholds his aid from 
any enterprise which he believes calculated 
to pro\-e of public Ijenefit. He deserves 
great credit for the success that he has 
achieved in life and well merits the high re- 
gard in which he is held Ijy his fellow citi- 
zens. His family is one of prominence in 
the comnnuiit\- where thev reside. 



JOHN DEAN GILLETTE. 

Eor man}- years John D. Gillette was one 
of the most prosperous and influential citi- 
zens of Logan county. The family to which 
he belonged was of French Huguenot or- 
igin, and was founded in the United States 
in 1031, his ancestors being among the- 
early settlers of Lebanon, Connecticut. His- 
paternal grandfather, Benoni Gillette, was. 
a soldier of the Revolutionarv war. His fa- 
ther was Eliphaz Gillette, who was born in 
1791. and married Amarilla Sanford. 

Our subject was born in Connecticut 
April 28. 1 810, and attended the Lan- 
castrean school at New Haven. After 
spending tw-o years in the south he returned 
to Cdunccticut in 1838 and w-as a student 
at Pearl's Academy in New- Haven for a 
time. In the fall of that year he came to 



588 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Losfan countv. 1 Hindis, and after \isitinL!' 
his uncle at Bald Knuh he cmnmenced \\(irk 
at eiglit dollars per month. Saving his 
wages for two years, he was at length alile 
to enter four acres of prairie land at (ine 
•dollar and a (piarter per acre, and on attain- 
ing his majority two years later increased 
his entry to one hundred and sixty acres, 
and also building a house upon his land. 
In 1842 he was the owner of two hundred 
and forty acres, and so successful was he 
in his farming operations that as early as 
1850 he had the largest farm and the most 
cattle, hogs and horses of any one in the 
coitnty. He seemed to take the greatest 
jjride in his cattle and frequently had as 
many as four thousand head. All his sur- 
plus money he invested in cheap land, and 
in 1852, in company with Robert Latliam, 
entered over six thousand acres. At the 
time of his death, which occurred August 
2^, 1883. he owned sixteen thousand fi\x' 
hundred acres of land and vast herds of cat- 
tle and horses. He was also president of the 
Xational Bank of Lincoln, and one of the 
most successful and wealthv citizens of this 
part of the state. In politics he was -i 
strong Republican, antl was a personal 
friend of President Lincoln, luit he al\\a\s 
refused political honors. 



LOUIS SCHAFFEXACKER. 

Louis Schaffenackcr, who has for man\ 
years been identified with the \icinit}- ( f the 
\-illage of Chestnut, is an Illinoisan, ami \\a.> 
born in Logan county December 10, 1866. 
His father, George S. Schaffenacker. was 
horn in Germany in the early "30s. was edu- 
cated in the fatherland, and emigrated ti < 
-\merica some time in the '^os. L'pon 



settling in Logan county. Illinois, he en- 
gaged in lirick making for some time, and 
then thought to improve his prospects l)v 
rem( \ing to California. However, he saw 
no advantages there which were not to Ije 
found ill the middle states. s(.) returned to 
Logan county, located in Mount Pulaski, 
where he erected a brick house, and settled 
down to the life of an industrious citizen. 
In 1857 he married Catherine Stoll, and to 
them w as born the following children : 
.\nna 1'... who is the wife of Rev. E. Beil, 
rector in the \illage of Chestnut; Cath- 
erine, who is the wife of Adatn Feuerbach, 
of Lincoln. Illinois; Alary, who is the wife 
of George Seyfer, of Lincoln; Sarah, who 
is married to E. Buehler, a farmer lixing 
west of Chestnut; Emma, who is the wife 
of John St(.tll, of Chester township; Carrie, 
who is the wife of Albert Abrams, of Aetna 
townshi[); Olga, Frederick (:., Edward and 
William, who are all living on the home- 
stead. 

From his yoiuh up Lijuis Schaffenacker 
lived on his father's farm and contributed 
his share towards the management and de- 
velopment of the h(jmestead. He was an 
Industrie !us and studious lad, and attended 
the district schools with profitable results. 
When twentv-eight years of age he started 
out to farm im his own i"esponsibility.ha\-ing 
in the meantnne contracted a marriage with 
Katherine (lell)ach. a daughter of Jacob 
Gelbach. who died August 5, 1896. Her 
mother, Mrs. Louisa Gelbach, died May 9, 
1899. The marriage of our subject oc- 
curred .Se]>tember 20. 1894, and for three 
years the couple lived on the home place. 
Subse<piently the husband. Ixiught his ])res- 
ent home in the village of Chestnut, whiclt 
is one of the pleasant, hospitable and com- 
fortable residences in the place. Air. Schaf- 
fcnacker has a large responsiljilit\- in regard 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



589 



to the estate left by his father, of which he 
is the manager and trustee, and of which 
he will eventually inherit his share. In pol- 
itics he is a DenK.icrat. is supervisor of the 
ti^wnship, and has in the past been a mem- 
ber of the school board. 



SAMUEL SPARKS. 

Among the men who have long been 
prominentlv identified with the agricultural 
interests of Logan county, Illinois, is Sam- 
uel Sparks, a son of Samuel and Alary 
( Hurd ) Sparks, the former a native of Xew 
Jerse}-, and the latter of Ross county, Ohio, 
in which state they were united in marriage. 
When fifteen }-ears of age Samuel Sparks, 
Sr., accompanied his father, who was a 
minister of the Baptist church, on his re- 
mo\'al to Ohio, and there engaged in farm- 
ing until 1831. when he came to Illinois and 
settled in Sangamon county, where he spent 
two years, antl then removed to Logan coun- 
ty. He first located in Corwin township, 
but two years later settled on section 36, 
Sheridan township, where he bought a farm 
of eighty acres. He also owned a fifty-acre 
tract (jf timlier land in Corwin township. 
In political faith he was a stanch Demo- 
crat, and for a number of years was both 
nchoi'l treasurer and road commlissioner. 
His religious connection was with the Bap- 
tist church. His wife, who was a devoted 
wife and mother, died in November, 1893. 
In their familv were ten children, namelv : 
James, deceased, married Alartha Weaver, 
who now resides in West Lincoln township ; 
Elizabeth Ann married .Alexander Morely. 
who died in Iowa, while her death occurred 
in Kansas : Sarah Jane marriefl Perry Aliller 
and lived in Christian countv, Illinois, but 



Ijoth are now deceased ; Susie died at the 
age of eighteen years : J. D. married Jennie 
Parker, now deceased, and lives in Taze- 
well county: E\-eline is the wife of E. M. 
Draiglass, a resident • of xMason county ; 
Alary is the widow of Green Douglass and 
resides in Kansas; Samuel, our subject, is 
the next in order of birth; Sarah is the wife 
of Hugh Fleming, of Oklahoma; and John 
died at the age of seven years. 

Mr. Sparks, of this review, was born in 
Sheridan township, Logan county, October 
31, 1846, and began his education in a little 
log school house which has since been re- 
placed bv a more im]3osing structure, known 
as the Alill Grcwe school, from which he 
was graduated into what was known as the 
Talbert school, in this county. He em- 
braced e\-ery possible achantage in this line 
up to his twentieth year, although the whole 
time did not aggregate a great deal, on ac- 
count of the long distance that he had to 
cover s'oino- am! coming from sch(X)l. 

Having lost his father when eighteen 
}"ears of age, j\lr. Sparks assisted his mother 
in carrying on the farm until he attained his 
majority, and after his marriage purchased 
the interests of the other heirs in the old 
homestead. On the Jist of February, 1867, 
he was married, in Lincoln, to Aliss Mary 
Ellen \\'endell, who was b<jrn in Ohio in 
1849, 'I'l'^^ i''' i8()i came to Illinois with her 
parents, Thomas and Fanny (Warren) 
Wendell, locating in Sheridan township, 
Logan county, where the mother died in 
1894, but the father is still living. He owns 
some six hundred acres of land in that town- 
ship, and for a numljer of years served as 
supervisor of the township. His political 
sympathies are with the Democratic party, 
and he is a member of the Catholic church. 
In his family were ten children, namely: 
William married first Sarah Lucas, and sec- 



590 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



i 



ond Henrietta Richards and resides in Lin- 
coln; George, deceased, married Sarah Oni- 
hart, who is now Hving in New Holland ; 
John H. married Georgia Myers and lives 
in York connt_\', Nebraska: Mary Ellen was 
the wife of onr subject; Uriah married 
Lauretta Baughn and lives in Sheridan 
township, this cnunty: James T. wedded 
Mary Baughn and makes his home in Cor- 
win tc-wnship; Sarali is the wife of Jolm 
Treckle, of Corwin township: Charles met 
death by accident at the age of seven years : 
and two children died in infancy. 

[Mr. Sparks" first wife died October 7, 
18S7, antl was laid to rest in Lucas cem- 
eter\". Bv that marriage he had the follow- 
ing children : I'annie. who is now the wite 
of C. X. Bea\-er. r.f York county. Nebraska, 
and has three children : Thomas, also a resi- 
dent of that county, who wedded Mary 
Mitchell and has two children: Charles F., 
of Corwin township, this county, who mar- 
ried Mary jNIaltby, and has three children ; 
S. T., of Chester tnwnship. this county, who 
married ]\linnie Rabbci" and has two chil- 
dren: and Marian, whu is at home with his 
father. 

On the 1 ith nf December. 1889. ''i Sheri- 
dan townshii). Mr. Sjiarks was united in 
marriage with Aliss Sarah Jane Maltb}-, w1t> 
was born in Lincoln February 6, 1863, a 
daug'liter of James and Jane (Preston) 
Maltby. Her father was one of the brave 
soldiers of the Civil war who laid down his 
life on the altar nf his ciuuitr}-. He was ;i 
member cf the One Hundred and Si.xtb Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, an".' died from ex- 
jxjsure in 1862. His wife sub.sef|uently mar- 
ried James Lee, by wiiom she had one son, 
James. Jr. She h;id three children by bej' 
first marriage, these being Charles, who is 
married and lives in Den\-er. Colorado: 
Chester, who is also married and li\ino- in 



that city: and Sarah Jane, wife of our sub- 
ject. Bv his second union Mr. Sparks has 
one daughter. Hazel. 

In his farming operations ]\Ir. Sparks 
has displayed excellent business ability, and 
has become one of the largest land owners 
in his locality, having' two hundred and 
twenty acres in Corwin township, one liun- 
dred and eighty acres in Sheridan township, 
two hundred and sixtv-eight acres in Ches- 
ter township, and one hundred and sixty 
acres in Nel)raska. His beatuiful and at- 
tractive residence, fine barns and all the nec- 
essary outbuildings present a picture of an 
ideal country home, an.d here he and his de- 
lightful fannly dispense a charming and lib- 
eral hospitalit}'. 



ROBERT D. CLARK. 

Robert D. Clark, a retired farmer of 
Mount Pulaski, is the jx^ssessor of a hand- 
S(;me pr(>])erty which now enables him to 
spend his years in the pleasurable enjoy- 
ment of his accumulations. In early life 
he successfully engaged in farming and beat 
his energies to the honorable accjuiremeni; 
of a ci)mf(irtal)le competence for himself and. 
familv. 

A native of Logan count}-, Air. Clark- 
was born on a farm in Laenna township 
Septcml)er 30, 1844, and on the paternal 
side is of English origin. His grandfather, 
John (."lark, was liorn in New Jersev Jan- 
uary 17. 1779, and in earlv life married 
Miss Nancy A. Isgrig, who was born in 
Maryland January 27, 1783. They spent 
their last days in Logan county, Illinois, 
where the grandfather died ISIarch 5, 1859, 
and his wife December 8, 1867. 

David \\'. Clark, our subject's father. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



591 



\\as bcirn in Buiiiiion cmiiit}'. Kentucky, Sep- 
temljer 30. 1809. and from tliat state went 
to Ohio at an early day and in the spring 
following the deep snow came to Illinois. 
On Jul}- 7, 1831. in Sangamon count}-, this 
state, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Hannah Stout, who was born in Greene 
county, Pennsylvania, December ij, 1810. 
a (laughter of Anthony and Sarah (Royal) 
Stout. She was left an orphan when young 
and came to Illinois in the fall prior to the 
deep snow. For about twelve years Da\i<l 
W. Clark made liis home in Sangamon coun- 
ty, Illinois, and then came to Logan county 
about 1S42, locating in Laenna township, 
where he impro\-ed a farm consisting of 
three liundred and se\ent}--five acres, ha\-ing 
begun his farming operations in this county 
while in very moderate circumstances. He 
erected good and substantial buildings upon 
the place, and continued its cultivation un- 
til 1890, when he removed to ]\Iount Pulaski 
and li\-ed retired until his death, which oc- 
curred Fel)ruar}- 3. 189J. In politics he was 
an (dd-line Whig and later a Republican, 
and in religious belief was a Methodist 
Protestant. He serxed t\\ o years as count}- 
assessor, being the last to till that office, and 
unaided he assessed the whole county. For 
a number of years he was the honored presi- 
dent of the Old Settlers Society and one of 
its acti\-e organizers. He was a man highly 
respected and esteemed by all who knew him 
and had a host of warm friends throughout 
the count}-. His estimalale wife, who was also 
a faithful member of the Methodist Protest- 
ant church, departed this life December 15, 
1897. They were the parents of si.x chil- 
dren, who are still li\ing. namelv : Th(jmas 
S., a resident of the state of Washington ; 
[Margaret A., now tlie widow of William 
L'pp, and a resident of California; Isaac T., 
of M(_)unt Pulaski: Robert I)., our subject; 



Charles R., of Polk count}-, Nebraska; and 
.\ngeline AI.. wife of David B. W'acaser, of 
Alount Pulaski. 

Reared on the home farm, Roljert D. 
Clark began his education in the district 
schools of the neighborhood, and later at- 
tended school at Indian Point, ]\Ienard coun- 
ty, and took a course at the State Normal 
School at Normal. Illinois. For sixteen 
\ears he successfully engaged in teaching 
school, and had charge of the sciiool in his 
home district ten years of that time. He 
then folkiwed farming, first operating a 
tract of rented land. His first purchase con- 
sisted of one hundred and si.xtv acres in 
Laenna townshi]). which he improved, but 
he sul)Sfcquentl}- sold that place, having in 
the meantime purchased the old homestead 
in Laenna township, consisting of two hun- 
dred and sixty-four acres, to which he sub- 
secjuently added se\-enty-h\e acres, all of 
which he still owns. It is under a high 
state of cultivation and well improvecl with 
eood buildino's. In connection with general 
farming he also engaged in stock-raising. 
In 1895 he removed to IMount Pulaski, 
w-here he is the owner of a beautiful home 
and other projiertv. and now gives some at- 
tention to real estate business under the 
firm name of \''onderleith & Clark and to 
looking after his investment. 

On February 2, 1873, I\Ir. Clark mar- 
ried Miss Catherine Edmonds, who wa.s 
born in Mount Pula,ski Feljruary 13, 1853. 
Of the three children born of this uni(jn a 
son and daughter died in infanc}-. The only 
one now living is ^linnie L.. now the wife 
of Ed. O. Mayer, of [Mount Pulaski. So- 
cially ]Mr. Clark is a member of Mount Pu- 
laski Lodge, No. ^-j, \. F. & A. M., of 
which he is the ]3resent master ; Mount Pu- 
laski Chapter, No. i_'i. R. A. M.. and 
[Mount l\ilaski Commendery, No. 39, K. 



592 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



T. ; and is a stanch supporter of the Repub- 
lican party. \Miile in Laenna township lie 
held the \-arious oftices in the gift of the 
jjeople, including that of supervisor, to 
which he was elected in a Democratic town- 
ship. He is one of the representative and 
prominent citizens of his nati\-e county, and 
5s a man of influence in the community 
where he resides. 



NOAH COSBY. 



Prominent anidug the energetic, enter- 
prising and successful citizens of Broadwell 
lowns'iip is Noah Cosby, who has been ac- 
tively identified with its agricultural and 
stock raising- interests since an early tlay. 
Here his entire life has been ]3assed, for he 
was Ixirn upon his present farm, June Ji, 
i860, and is a w(irth\- representative of an 
honored pioneer family of this count}-. 

Nathaniel Cosby, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Kentucky on Christmas 
Day, 18 1 3, and was a son of \Mllian-i and 
Frances Cosby, natives of England and 
Germany, respecti\-ely. Some of his rela- 
tives are still li\-ing- in Kentucky. .Vs early 
as 1836 he canie tO' Logan cnunty, Illinois, 
and took up two hundred and eighty acres 
of land at the goA-ernment price of one dol- 
lar and a quarter ])er acre. Fur six \-ears 
he worked as a farm hand at ten dollars per 
month, being in the employ of Colonel La- 
tham at Elkhart Gro\-e, and in 1842 coni- 
menced to improxe his pr(ipert\-, which is 
the present home nf our suliject. He as- 
sisted in laying out the town of Broadwell, 
and also in making the survey of Broadwell 
township. He took a very active part in 
promoting all enterjirises which he ljelie\-cd 
w-ould jirove of lienefit to the communit} . 



and was regarded as one of the most ^•alu- 
able and useful citizens of his township. 
About 1872 he retired from active labor, 
fiut continued tO' reside upon the old home > 
farm until his death, which occurred June ! 
7, 1875. He enjoyed exceptionally good y 
health, was strong and active, and in busi- > 
ness affairs \\-as thoroughly reliable and con- { 
scientious. By his ballot he supported the I 
n-ien and measures of the Democracy, and ^ 
gave to the support i>f all church and philan- 
thropic W(jrk. 

In early life Nathaniel Cosby married 
Aliss Eliza Foster, who was of German de- 
scent, and they becan-ie the parents of ele\-en 
children, four of whom died in infancy. 
Those li\ing- are Deljbie, wife of .Andrew 
I'lisminger, a grain buyer of Lincoln, Illi- 
nois: Ora, wife of Edward Ballinger, of 
Diiwning, Missouri; Mary W"., wife of An- 
drew Bauman, of Furnace county, Ne- 
braska: Nnah, the suliject of this sketch: 
John A., a traveling salesman li\ing in 
]3an\-ille. Illinois: H. L., a physician, of Lin- 
coln: and Nathan, a resident of Broadwell. 
The mother of these children, wlm was an 
earnest member nf the Christian church, 
died on the old home farm in 1898, at the 
age of sixty-nine years. 

Noah Cosh)- is indebted tO' the district 
schools of Broadwell township for his edu- 
cational advantages. He attended school 
(inly during the winter months, the summer 
being de\-i;ted to farm work. He was mily 
fii-nrteen years of age when his father died, 
and the responsibility of carrying nn the 
hiime farm deyf>lyed u];<jn him. though be 
bad ijractically had charge of the place for 
two years pre\-ious to this time. In i8g8 he 
])urchased the interests of the other heirs, 
and is still successfully operating the old 
homestead. Since seventeen years of age 
he has been engaged in buying and shipping- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



593- 



stock, principal! \' cattle and li'igs. and fur 
the past fourteen years lias acted as agent 
for the firm nf Spellnian & Spitley. grain 
dealers of Lincoln, and enjoys their con- 
fidence to a marked degree. He is a 
straightforward, energetic man. and is meet- 
ing with excellent success in all liis under- 
takings. 

In Broadwell township Mr. Cosby was 
married, in 1881. to Miss Mary H. Love, 
who was Ijorn in Pike county. Ohio, July 
22. 1838. and was educated in the schools 
of that state and Logan county. Illinois. 
Her parents. Samuel and Frances Love, are 
still residents of Broadwell township, tlie 
iiirmer being now seventy years of age and 
the latter sixty-two. One of their five chil- 
dren died young, and the others are : 
Thomas, a resident of Broadwell ; Mary H.. 
wife of our suliject: Charles, who is em- 
ployed in a dry goods store in Chicago : and 
Mattie, widow of Isaac Lott and a resident 
of Chicago. Mr. and ]\Irs. Cosby have two 
children: Paul S., born May 24. 1886; and 
Frank C. born August 22. 1888. They are 
now attending the public schools of Broad- 
well. and it is the intentiim of their parents 
to send them to college. 

One of the leading and influential citi- 
zens I if his township. Mr. Cusbx- was 
elected su]jer\isiir in 1886, and f<ir six vears 
he filled that office with credit to himself 
and to the entire satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. He was chairman f>f the poor 
farm cnmmittee fnur vears, of tiie jsrinting 
and building committee two years and was 
a member of several other important com- 
mittees. Air. Cosby has also served as 
school director twehe years, and is a mem- 
Ijer (jf the board at the present time. He is 
also' a member of the village board, was tdr- 
merl_\- jjresident of the same, and is now ser\'- 
ing on the street and rdlev committee. As 



a citizen he meets e\er\- retjuirement, and 
manifests a commendable interest in every- 
thing that is calcidated to promote the wel- 
fare of his town or count v in anv line. In 
manner he is jileasant, genial and approach- 
able, and all whi> know him esteem him 
higblN- for his genuine worth. 



JOHX McDOXALD GASAW'.VY. 

. Among the highly respected citizens of 
M( unt Pidaski who ha\-e laid aside all busi- 
ness cares and expect to spend their re- 
maining years in ease and quiet is John Mc- 
Donald Gasawa\'. whose early life was suc- 
cessfully de\(:;ted to farming. He was liorn 
upon a farm in Ross, county, Ohio, January 
19, 1827. and is a son of Xjcholas and 
.Sopbia ( Denson ) Gasawax'. the former of 
Scotch and the latter of Welsh descent. His 
grandfather. Thomas Gasawav, was a na- 
ti\'e of \'iriginia, and was a soltlier of the 
Rexdiutionary war. He married Miss Jane 
Kelly and they reared a g-oocl sized family. 
The father of our subject was also born i.r 
the Old I)i niinii^.n. in 1793. and when a 
ycamg men went to Ohio, \\liere he was mar- 
ried. Settling in Ross count\', he bcame one 
of the ])rosperous farmers of that localitv, 
but tleciding to come farther west, he re- 
mo\ed with his famih' to Logan countv. 
Illinois, in 1833. ^i'^'^ settled in Lake Fork 
t(.wnshii). w here he engaged in farming for 
many years. He died on the old home farm 
in 1879 at the age of eightv-fi\e. his wife in 
1880. at the age of seventv-nine. l^oth were 
de\'out meml^ers of the Methodist cluuxli. 
and were highly respected and esteemed by 
all who knew them. Of the ten children 
born to them, eight reached years of niatur- 
'\X\ and came to Logan countw nameh' : 



594 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^lary, James 1).. John M.. Jane. William H., 
Tliomas D., So])liia and Xiclicilas. Onl\- 
three of this famil\- still survive. 

John M. Gasavvay was reared in much 
the usual manner of farmer boys of his day, 
his time being di\-i(!e(l between the work rif 
the h<inic farm and attendance at the district 
school of the neighborliodd. .Vt the age of 
twenty-four vears lie was united in marriage 
with Miss Eliza Poe, of Ross count}-, Ohio, 
a daughter of Pliram and ^larv ( Gasawa^•) 
Poe. They had six children, of whom four 
are still living: ]\Iar_\-, widow of Abram ]\Ic- 
Kenny and a resident of Mount Pulaski : 
Sophia Horn, deceased; Hiram X., a con- 
stable of Mount Pulaski ; and Arthilda. wife 
of B. F. Scroggin, a banker of Oak, Ne- 
braska. 

After his marriage Mr. Gasawav fol- 
lowed farming in Ohin until 1853, when lie 
came to Logan Cdunty, Illinois, and pur- 
chased three hundred acres of land in Lake 
Fork township, in partnership with his cous- 
in, I. W. Gasaway. Later he Ixiught a farm 
of two hundred and eighty acres in the same 
township, whicli he still owns, and upon 
that ]jlace he made many useful and ^•aluable 
improvements, which still stand as monu- 
ments to his thrift and industry-. He gave 
consideral)le attention to the raising of a 
good grade of cattle and hogs, and fed all of 
the products of his farm to his stock. Rent- 
ing the farm in 18S0, he remo\ed to ]\Iount 
Pulaski, and has since lived a retired life, 
enjoying the fruits of former toil. Here 
he has a good modern residence, on East 
Cook street. 

By his ballot Mr. Gasaway always sup- 
]3orts the men and measures of the Demo- 
cratic party, and while living on the farm 
took a prominent part in local politics. He 
served nine years as township trustee, was 
assessor of Lake Fork township, and high- 



way ci-mmissioner ; and for twelve years was 
also commissioner of the drainage district 
of Lake Fork township. He and his wife 
are among the leading members of the 
Christian church of Mount Pulaski, in which 
he has served as elder for se\-en A-ears, 
They ha\-e celebrated their tiftieth wedding 
anniversar}-, having tra\-eled life's journey 
together for o\-er half a century, and thev 
are among the most highly respected and 
honored citizens of their community. L"p- 
right and honorable in all things, ^Ir. Gasa- 
way has gained the confidence of all with 
whom he has been brought in contact, and 
well merits the high regard in which he is 
unil'ormh' held. 



ANDREW KEYS. 



Andrew Ke\s, a wealthy retired farmer 
of Oran townshi]). who is residing on the 
old homestead only a short distance from 
Beason, was born in Pike county, Illinois, 
June 22. 1845, ■'"'"1 's a son of James and 
Mary ( Evans) Keys. In the family were 
six children, two of whom died in infancy, 
and h'rancis, a brother, died on a farm ad- 
joining our subject's. He was married and 
at his death left a widow and live children. 
The others are still living. The father was 
a natixe of Ireland, where his parents spent 
their entire li\-es, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject being a \-erv successful farmer of that 
country. In 1833, James Keys crossed the 
broad Atlantic, and on landing in Xew Y(jrk 
]iroceeded to (Jliio, where he spent about 
nine years. In i84_' he renicived to Brown 
couulw Illinois, and twii years later settled 
in I'ike count}', this state, where he success- 
full}' engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
Ids death, which occurred in 18^2. His wife, 




ANDREW KEYS, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



597 



wliij was also a native of Ireland, survived 
him many years and died in October, 1893. 

In the countv ot his nativity Andrew 
Kevs was reared and edncateil. ami in 1865 
came to Logan county with his moither, 
brother and two sisters. Airs. Keys first 
purchased three hundred and twenty acres 
of land where our suliject now resides, and 
later added eighty anres to it. All of this 
land is now owned by our subject and his 
brother's familv. 

Seven }ears later Air. Keys located on 
his present farm, ha\ing at that time eighty 
acres, which his mother gave him. and in 
his farming operations he has since met 
with marked success. .\s time passed he 
added to his landed possessions, and is toda}' 
the owner of nine hundred and twenty acres 
of valuable land in Logan and DeWitt coun- 
ties. On the old homestead, near Beason, 
where Airs. Keys settled, he has built a fine 
residence, and is now living a retired life, 
enjoying the fruits of former toil. 

Air. Keys was married, February 15, 
1872, to Miss Pamelia Johnston, who died 
January 29, 1893. Of the nine children 
born to this union, h\e are still li\'ing, name- 
ly: Andrew E., born January 6, 1876; 
Francis A., December 3, 1877: Hester O., 
June 9, 1882: Ethel J., April 15, 1886; 
Nellie L., October 14, 1888; and James A., 
who was born December 12, i!^73. and died 
August 24, 1875. All the children live at 
home. 

Andrew Johnston, the father of Airs. 
Keys, was born in Ireland, Alay 15, 1813, 
and came to the United States in 1839. .\f- 
ter S])ending three }-ears in Ohio, he re- 
moved to Illinois, and for the past thirty- 
si.x years has been a resident of Logan 
county. He has led a very acti\e and useful 
life, his occupation Ijeing that of farming, 
but has now laid aside all Imsiness cares, and 



is spending his declining years in ease and 
comfort with his son-in-law, Air. Keys of 
this re\-iew. at the ripe old age of eighty- 
eight. His father. William Johnston, died 
in July, J 835, and a year later his mother 
came to the new world to make her home 
with her children in Ohio. Her death oc- 
curred in 1843. 

Air. Keys and his family are members 
of the Alethodist Episcopal Church, and are 
quite prominent socialh' in the comnnmity 
where thev reside. Bv his ballot he sup- 
ports the Republican party. He has served 
as school director for nine years, and in 
.\ljril, if)Oi. was elected supervisor of Oran 
township, which office he is now most cred- 
itably filling'. He is a man of exemplary 
habits, commendable ]3urpose and unbending 
integrity, and in all life's relations merits 
the confidence which is so freely accorded 
him. In business affairs he has prospered 
and his course has ever been such as to gain 
for him the confidence and high regard of 
all with whom he has l)een brought in con- 
tact. 



THOAL\S L. SULLU'AX. 

One of the representati\-e and prominent 
farmers of Oran township is Thomas L. 
Sullivan, who owns and operates a fine farm 
of two Inuidred and seventy-se\-en and a 
half acres, pleasantly located three miles 
northwest of Beason. He was born in Lo- 
gan county, Ohio', August 7, 1831. and is 
a son of Lewis and Lucy G. Sulli\-an, in 
whose fann'l}- -were tweh'e children. naniel_\' : 
Henry A\'.. ^\■illiam J., Elizabeth J., Alfred 
L., Thomas L., Angeline, Alargaret I., 
Alary, David, Lewis W., Benjamin P. and 
Louisa, of whom si.x are still living. His 
jiaternal grandfather, William Henry Sulli- 



598 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



van, was a native of Maryland, and in early 
life removed to Virginia. He was one of a 
family of nine children, all of wlmm reached 
man and womanhood. The father of onr 
subject was born in 1797, and in 1857 came 
to Illinois, locating in Menard county, where 
he followed farming fi)r man\- \ears, mak- 
ing it his life occupation. His last days, 
iiowever, were spent in ease and retirement 
from labor. He died Xovemlicr 14, 1889, 
and his wife passed away .\pril 29, 1864. 
She was a native of Xcirth Carolina and t 
daughter of Benjamin Lane, who* followed 
the shoemaker's trade in early life and later 
engaged in farnting. 

Reared upon a farm, Thomas L. Sulli- 
van> obtained his literary education in the 
countrv schools, and accjuired a good prac- 
tical knowledge of agricultural pursuits. 
On starting cut in life for himself, in 1856, 
he engaged in farming in Menard county for 
about two vears, and then came to Logan 
countv, settling on a farm within a stone's 
throw of his present place. He has since 
made his home in Oran township, and in his 
farming operations has met with marked 
success, becoming the owner of one of the 
best improved and most valuable farms of 
its size in the locality. 

On February 19, 1856, Mr. Sullivan 
married Miss Ellen J. Rhoades. a daughter 
of Henry Rhoades, of ^Maryland, wht> was 
a miller lj\- trade, but de\-(ited the latter jjart 
of his life to- farming. Six children blessed 
this union, namely: Lewis H., who mar- 
ried Essie Seal : David L., who married Em- 
ma Milliurn; Minnie .\.. wife of Charles 
Trigg; Rosetta L., who married Joseph 
^Montgomery, .Septemlier 2j. 1877. and died 
January 3, 1879: Thomas Benton, who died 
September j6, 1862: and Grace Hallie, who 
died January 8, i86g. In their religions 
connections this familv are Methodists. 



1"he wife and mi>ther, who was a most es- 
timable lady, died on the 31st of August, 
1889. 

Politically Mr. Sulli\an is identiiied 
with the Rei)ublican party, and socially affil- 
iates with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He is one of the leading antl in- 
fluential citizens of his community, and is 
a man who commands the respect and ci>n- 
fulence iif all who know him, for he is ui>- 
right and honorable in all his dealings and 
steadfast in his friendshiiis. 



JOHX H. HAMMERTON. 

John H. Hammerton is a leading repre- 
sentative of the business interests of Beason, 
where he is now engaged in general mer- 
chandising as the senior member of the firm 
of Hammerton & Parks. Of e.xcellent busi- 
ness abilit}' and broad resources, he has at- 
tained a jjrominent place among the sub- 
stantial citizens of his part of the county.. 
He has won success by his well-directed, 
energetic efforts, and the prosperity that has 
come to him is certainly well deserved. 

Mr. Hammerton is a nati\'e of Illinois, 
born in Pike county, April 7, 1857. His 
father, Elias Hammerton, was born on the 
3d of May, 1826, in England, \vhere his 
parents, Stephen and Fannie Hammerton, 
spent their entire lives as farming people, 
and w here they died after their son reached 
manhood. Elias Hammerton was reared 
and educated in his native land, and was 
there married. May 15, 1S51, to Miss ]\Iary 
Cooling, the distinguished daughter of 
Samuel and Elizabeth ( Eithershaw) Cool- 
ing-, who were also life-long residents of 
England. In 1855 ]\Ir. and Mrs. Hammer- 
ton sailed for the United States, and on 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



599 



landing' in Xew York proceeded at once to 
Pike county, Illinois, where they spent three 
or foiu' years in farming. At the end of that 
time they came tO' Logan count}', where the 
father purcliased a farm, and t(.> its cultiva- 
tion he devoted hi^ energies until his death, 
which occurred April 28. ]<S8o. He was 
activel}- identified with the interests of the 
county as one of its foremost citizens, and 
served as school director for some time. He 
was also a prominent memher and deacon in 
the Cumherland Preshyterian church. So 
successful was he in husiness affairs that at 
Iris death he left U) his family considerable 
property, and his widow still resides on the 
home farm. She was born !\Iarch 17, 1831. 
Of the si.x: children born to tliem four sur- 
vive the father. 

When twelve years of age John H. Ham- 
merton accompanied his parents im their re- 
mo\-al to a farm one mile north of Beason, 
and there he grew to manhood, assisting in 
the labors of the fields and attending the 
local schools. In 1883 he embarked in the 
butcher and hardware business in Beason, 
which he carried on for four years, and on 
selling" out o])ened his present general store. 
taking as a partner A. B. Denseth. This 
connection continued until January, 1901. 
when Mr. Denseth was succeeded b}- 
A. F. Parks, and business has since been 
conducted under the firm name of Ham- 
merton & Parks. They carry a large and 
w'ell selected stock of general merchandise 
\-alued at fi\-e thousan<l dollars and have 
built up an excellent trade, which is con- 
stantly increasing. 

On the 17th of February, 1881, was 
celebrated his marriage with ?\liss Carrie 
A. Fortman. a daughter of John G. Fort- 
man. They are members of the Methodist 
E])iscopaI clnu-ch, and Mr. Hammerton is 
also connected with the Knights of Pvthias 



and IMasonic fraternities. Politicalh' he is 
an ardent Democrat, and as a public-spirited 
and progressive citizen he takes a commend- 
able interest in public affairs and does all 
in his i:)ower ti> jjromote the general wel- 
fare of the communit\- in which he resides- 



THOMAS D. HOWE. 

Thomas 1). Howe, a prosperous farmer 
residing on section 10. Lake Fork township, 
Logan cnunty, of which he is supervisor, 
was born in Ross county, Ohio', February 
17, 1854, and is a son of Abner and Jane 
( Gasawa)- ) Howe. When he was less than 
tw<i }'ears old his parents brought him to 
Illinois and located in Logan county, where' 
his l)o\hood daws were spent. He received 
a fair common school education. When he 
was onlv eleven vears of age his father died 
and he began to work for himself b}' the 
miinth. 

In October. 1877, he was married to 
Miss Missouri C. Jennings, of Cumberland' 
ciiunty. Illinois. He rents aird ojjerates a 
good farm of one hundred and eight}' acres 
in Lake Fork township, this count}', which 
he has brought into an excellent state of cul- 
ti\ation . The following familv has been 
born ti; himself ajid wife, namely: Emma 
Jane, Abner, Ira, Bessie, Dora, Anna, 
Edith. Odes, Flossie, Thomas and Kenneth. 

Mr. Howe was reared a Democrat, but 
although he has been a delegate to \'arious 
conventions he has taken but little interest 
in pnlitics. He served as collector for the 
township for tweh'e years and also as clerk 
for two years. In 1891 he was elected su- 
pervisor and is n(.nv serving on the judiciary 
committee and chairman of the cnnimittee 
on paupers of the east half ol the cnunty.- 



6oo 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Socially he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias Lodge at Latham, Xo. 358. and has 
filled cA\ the chairs. His pleasant, genial 
manner wins for him many friends and he is 
a man of influence in the community which 
he is so ably serving as a public official. 



WILLIAM S. BEAVER. 

William S. Bea\er, a resident of Corwin 
township, Logan county, is a nati\e son of 
that township, born June 21, 1865. His 
parents were James and Xancy iShasteen) 
Beaver, whose sketch appears elsewhere in 
this volume. L'ntil lie was nineteen years 
of age our subject attended the !\Iill Grove 
■school during the winter months, while he 
assisted his father on the farm during the 
summers, remaining under the parental roof 
until Ills marriage. 

On October 15. 1893. ~Slr. Beaver 
wedded Miss Anna Margaret Shultz, who 
was born in Logan county, March 18. 1871, 
and is a daughter of John and Lena ( Burk- 
hart) Shultz, both of whom were na- 
tives of Germany. Soon after their mar- 
riage her parents came to America, locating 
first in \\ est Lincoln township. Logan coun- 
ty. Illinois, but later they lived in Sheridan 
township for twenty-three years. yiv. 
Shultz now resides on one of Mr. Beaver's 
farms in Corwin township. Mrs. Beaver 
was educated in the common schools of this 
countv. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Beaver are as follows : Floyd ^larshall, 
born October 29, 1895 : Lena ]\Iay, April 19, 
1896; Bessie Leona. September 10. 1897: 
and W'illbert Sherman, July 18, 1898. 

After his marriage our subject took 
charge i^f the farm he now occupies and is 
regarded throughout the county as one of 



the most successful and progressive agricul- 
turists and stock-raisers of this locality. He 
makes a specialty of breeding short horn 
cattle. He owns four hundred and twenty 
acres of some of the finest land in Logan 
county, while his elegant brick residence 
would do credit to a large town, in its ap- 
pearance and modern completeness. Al- 
though Mr. Beaver is an active Republican, 
he, like his father, absolutely refuses to ac- 
cept political office. His religious member- 
shi]) is with the ^lethodist church, in which 
he is prominent, and he enjoys the esteem 
of the whole communitv. 



FRAXCIS M. HARLEY. 

Francis M. Harley. one of the prosper- 
ous and substantial citizens of Atlanta town- 
ship, whose life has been devoted to agri- 
cultural pursuits, is a native of Logan cotui- 
ty, ]3orn July 8. 1855. and is a son of Lewis 
and Elizabeth ( Haughey) Harley. The 
father was a natixe of Pennsylvania, and a 
son of Abraham and Catherine (Rii¥) Har- 
ley. The grandfather was born in !Mont- 
gomery county, Pennsylvania, October 12, 
1790. and in earl\- life learned the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he followed for some 
years. In his native county he was married, 
December 22. 18 14, to ^liss Catherine Riff, 
who was born February 21, 1784, and five 
years 'after his marriage removed to Ches- 
ter coutny, Pennsylvania, where he engaged 
in the milling business for a time. Subse- 
quentl}- he lived in various places until 1830, 
when he removed to Ohio, and ten years 
later came to McLean county, Illinois, 
where he followed farming and other pur- 
suits imtil 1863, when he returned to Ohio, 
making that state his home until his death. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



60 r 



which (jccurrred in January. 1880, when he 
was ninety years of age. His wife Catli- 
erine passed away about 1853, and he later 
married again, but iiad no children by the 
second marriage. Tiiuse bv the first union 
were Elias; Isaiah; Abraham; John; Lewis, 
tlie father of our subject; Jacob, who died 
in infancy ; and Aaron. 

Lewis Harley was born October 2j. 
l^JI. and accompanied his parents on 
their various removals during his early life. 
remaining with them until 1847, when he 
started out to earn his own livelihood as a 
da}- laborer on the farms in the vicinity of 
his home. For a time he also engaged in 
milling, and in 1856 located on the fann in 
Atlanta township, this county, now occu- 
pied by our subject. On February 27, 1851, 
he married Miss Elizalieth Haughey. a na- 
tive of Ohio, who was born August 7. 183 1. 
She came to this county with her parents 
and settled in Atlanta township in 1848. 
Air. and Mrs. Haughey. however. si>ent 
tlieir last days in McLean county. When 
the father located upon our subject's pres- 
ent farm it was all wild and unimproved, 
but he at once set to work to make it one 
of the best famis in the county and in this 
lie was successful. His farm labors were 
interrupted in i86j by his service in the 
army. In August of that year he enlisted 
in Company A, One Hundred and Seven- 
teenth Illinois Infantry, and although he 
ser\etl three years he was never wounded 
or never off duty, but was with his regiment 
in all their marches and battles. On his re- 
turn home he resumed farming, and by in- 
dustry, perseverance, and economy was able 
to accumulate a handsome propertv. He 
died January 3. 1873, honored and respected 
by all who knew him. His most estimable 
wife now makes her home in McLean coun- 



ty. The children born to them were as fol- 
lows : Abraham Thomas, who was born 
January 22. 185 J, and died June 22. 1854; 
and Francis Clarion, our subject. 

To the country schools of Logan county 
Francis M. Harley is indebted for his edu- 
cational advantages. \\'hen not in school 
his time was devoted to the work of the 
home farm, and he soon became thoroughly 
familiar with all the duties which fall to the 
lot of the agriculturist. At the age of twen- 
ty-one he commenced farming on his own 
account, and so successful has he been that 
he is now the owner of a valuable place of 
six httndred acres, on which he has a fine 
lirick residence and a good set of farm 
buildings. This beautiful place is conveni- 
ently located on section 14, Atlanta town- 
ship, within four and one-half miles of At- 
lanta and two miles from ^McLean. 

On February i, 1877, Mr. Harley mar- 
ried ^liss Delia Tuttle, a daughter of Guy 
H. Tuttle, one of Atlanta's most prosperous 
and wealthy fanners, and by this union one 
child was born, Edna, who is now the wife 
of Ed Hawes, a leading merchant of At- 
lanta, conducting one of the largest dry 
gtKxls and men's clothing establisliments in 
that place. It is interesting to note that 
when Mrs. Hawes was two years of age 
she had two grandmothers, one grandfather, 
two great-grandfathers and two great- 
grandmothers living. 

Socially ^Ir. Harley aflfiliate--. with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
the Mij<lern ^^'o<.xlmen of America, and po- 
litically he is identified with the Republican 
party. He has never cared for the honors 
or emoluments of public office, preferring 
rather to devote his entire time and energies 
t<i his personal affairs. His has been a suc- 
cessful career, and his course has ever Ijeen 



■6o2 



THE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



yuch as to commend him to the confidence 
and regard of all with whom he has been 
l)rought in contact, either in business or so- 
cial life. 



JOSEPH P. LUCAS. 

Among Logan county's native sons who 
ha\-e become well known in agricultural 
circles is Joseph P. Lucas, whose home is on 
section 36, Orvil township. He was born in 
Corwin township, August 14, 1847, liis par- 
ents being George M. P. and Elizabeth 
(Pence) Lucas. The father was a native 
of Greene county, Ohio, and a son of Joseph 
and Sarah (Price) Lucas, who were born in 
Morris county, Xew Jersey. The great- 
grandparents of our subject were Abraham 
and Marcy (Kelsey) Lucas, also natives of 
that county. 

The father of our subject spent his early 
life upon a farm in Ohio until 1821, when he 
accinnpanied his parents on their removal to 
1 Hindis, settling first in the village of Irish 
Grove and later in Pekin, where the grand- 
father of Liur subject followed his chosen 
occupations of a carpenter and millwright. 
From Pekin the family remo\-ed to Corwin 
township, Logan county, where George 
Lucas was married. He had previously 
learned the carpenter's trade under his 
father's direction, antl followed that occu- 
pation throughout life, being employed CiS 
one of the head carpenters in the erection 
of the old state house at Springfield. In 
1840 he returned to Corwin township, this 
countv. where he made his home until his 
death in 1893. ^^'^ widow still survives 
him and resides with her children. She was 
liorn near Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, 
and came to this county with her parents, 
who spent the remainder of their lives in 
Corwin townsh.p. 



Joseph P. Lucas is the fourth in order 01 
birth in a family of eight children, the others 
being Catherine, wife of John Wigginton of 
\\'est Lincoln township; Minerva, wife of 
George Kitson of Thayer county, Nebraska ; 
Mary Ann, deceased wife of Thomas War- 
ren : Eliza and Harriet, both deceased ; Lor- 
etta, twin sister of the latter and wife of 
William Martin, who lives near [Mount Pu- 
laski, this county ; and Sarah Jane, the eld- 
est, who died in infancy. 

Our subject began his business career as 
a- carpenter in Logan county, and followed 
that pursuit until he attained his majority. 
In 1872 he was united in marriage with Miss 
Margaret Flick, a native of Mason county, 
Illinois, and a daughter of Johi» Flick, who 
now resides in Lincoln. Six children have 
been born to them, namely : George O., 
Edgar W.. Katie E., Sadie C, Elmer J. and 
Winnie E., all at home. 

After his marriage Mr. Lucas remo\'e(l 
to McLean county, Illinois, where he en- 
gaged in farming for thirteen }'ears. and at 
the end of that time settled upon his present 
fine farm on section 36, Orvil township, 
where he owns two hundred and twenty 
acres of well impro\ed land de\'oted to gen- 
eral farming and stock raising. Mr. Lucas 
has held sex'eral minor offices in his town- 
ship and is a firm advocate of the principles 
of the Democratic party. Both he and his 
wife are earnest members of the Baptist 
church of Lincoln, and throughout the en- 
tire community they are very highly respect- 
ed, numberino- their friends bv legions. 



URIAH HILL. 



Uriah Hill, formerly one of the leading 
merchants of Lincoln, is now li\'ing a retired 
life in the enjoyment of a rest which he 
has trulv earned and riclilv deserves bv rea- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



603 



son of his industrious efforts of former 
vears. He was Ijorn on the 12th of August, 
1845. in Plainfield, Xew Jersey, of wliich 
state his parents, Wilham R. and Caroline 
(Harris) Hill, were also natives, the former 
born August 14, 1810, the latter September 
20, 1814. The father's family is of Irish 
descent, while the Harrises are of Scotch ex- 
traction. Our subject's maternal grand- 
father was James Harris, also a native of 
New Terse}-. William R. Hill, the father of 
our subject, followed contracting and build- 
ing as a life work. In 1857 he came with 
his famil}- to Illinois, and made his home in 
Tazewell county until 1870. when he came 
to Lincoln, and here spent the remainder 
of his life, dying April 15, 1889. His wife 
sur\-i\e(l him for some time and passed 
away January 9, 190 1, at the advanced age 
of eighty-seven years. 

L'riah Hill began his education in the 
schools of Plainfield. Xew Jersey, and after 
the removal of the family to this state at- 
tended school in Lincoln during the winter 
months for some years. He remained on 
the liiime farm giving his father the laeneiit 
(if his labors until 1870. when he com- 
menced clerking for J. B. Paisle\'. a grocer 
of Lincoln. Here he eiubarked in the un- 
dertaking luisiness on his own account in 
1885, and carried it on cpiite successfully un- 
til August, i8q6, when he disposed of his 
Ijusiness in Lincoln. ]n tlie meantime lie had 
opened a branch establishment at Green 
Valley, Illinois, which he still retains. In 
February, 1897, Air. Hill formed a partner- 
ship with his nephew, F. C. Alexander, and 
under the Hrm name of Alexander & Flill 
engaged in the grocery business until April, 
1901, when he .sold out to his partner, and 
is now practically living a retired life. He 
owns a g(X)d farm of two hundred and forty 
acres of land in Decatur county, Iowa, a mile 



and a half from Garden Grove, which he- 
rents. He is the second largest stockholder 
in the Lincoln National Bank, of whicli he 
was one of the organizers in 1885, at that 
time, taking forty shares at one hundred 
dollars each. 

On the jQth of October, 1872, :\Ir. Hill 
was united in marriage with Miss Harriet 
AlcCord of Lincoln, a daughter of Israel 
McCord, who also came to this state from 
Xew Jersey, and became one of the promin- 
ent citizens of Lincoln. Airs. Hill was born, 
reared and educated in Jacksonville, Illi- 
nois. To our subject and his wife were 
born three children, namely : Caroline M., 
now the wife of John M. Flick; Luella AI., 
at home ; and George P., who died in in- 
fancw 

Politically Air. Hill is identified with the 
Democratic part}-, and served as coroner of 
Logan county for four years. He is a Scot- 
tish Rite Alason, a niember of Logan Lodge, 
Xo. J 10. F. & A. Al.. Lincoln Chapter, X^o. 
147. R. A. AL, Alahomet Temple of the 
Al}stic Shrine at Peoria, and the Peoria 
Consistory, and he also belongs to Lincoln 
Lodge, X'o. 204, I. O. O. F., in which he has 
passed all the chairs and is now deputy 
grand master of the bical district. Relig- 
idusl}- both he and his wife are members of 
the Alethodist Episcopal church, with which 
they united in 1868, and he has been a niem- 
ber of its board of stewards for the past 
twenty-five years. He has a pleasant home 
at the corner of \\"alnut and West Sixth 
streets, where he is now living in ease and 
quiet surrouuded b\- all the cc.imforts of life. 
Accomplishment and progress ever imply la- 
I>or, energy and diligence, and it w-as those 
qualities that enabled Air. Hill to rise from 
the ranks of the manv and stand among the 
successful few-. He is one of the highly re- 
spected citizens of Lincoln, and his long resi- 



6o4 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dence liere and the active part has has taken 
in ad\ancing its interests we 
representation in its history. 



in advancing its interests well entitles him to 



JACOB B. HARRISON. 

Jacoh B. Harrison, one of the prosper- 
ous farmers of Logan county, whose home 
is on section 8, Laenna township, where he 
carries on both general farming and stock 
raising, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, 
March 15, 185 1, and is the son of Jacob 
L. and Sarah (Schock) Harrison. The 
paternal grandparents of our subject were 
^\'illianl and ^Nlary (Fawcett) Harrison. 
Jacob L. Harrison was a native of Rocking- 
ham county, Virginia, and in early life was 
a clerk in a store in his nati\e state, \\here 
he li\ed until middle age. The mother of 
our subject is still living, aged eighty-two, 
being born in Pike county, Ohio, Decem- 
ber 19, 1818. 

The father died when our subject was 
only two years of age and the family was 
left in limited circumstances, and from early 
childhoo(t Jacob B. was forced to work \-er}' 
hard so that he had but little time to devote 
to accjuiring an education. Such oppor- 
tunities as were offered him, however, he 
eagerly gra.sped, and heliied his mother on 
the farm whenever needed, and, she was 
thus enabled to keep the family of four 
children together till of age. Three are 
still living. 

When about twenty-one Air. Harrison 
left home, and, coming to Illinois, settled in 
Logan county and rented land in ])artner- 
ship with a man who died a year later. 
After working on the uncultivated Illinois 
])rairie for a time he returned to his Ohio 
home and remained there about two and 



one-half years. On February 20, 1877, lie 
was married in Logan county, Illinois, to 
Miss Sarah Combs, a daughter of Jonathan 
and .Vnn (_RoseJ Combs, and returned with 
his bride to Ohio, where they resided seven 
}ears, he being in charge of the pumping 
station on the Ohio Southern Railroad at 
Simpson, and owning the property on 
which the station was located. In 1884 
they came to Mt. Pulaski and engaged 
in farming, and in 1893 purchased one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in Laenna 
tinvnshi]^). In addition to this he controls 
about twii hundred and forty acres more, 
making four hundred in all, and operates 
the propert}- according to the latest im- 
))r(.i\-ed methcids. Mr. Harrison is one of 
the well-known horsemen and stock dealers 
of this sectii_in, keeping some fine stock on 
his place and also dealing e.xtensively and 
successfull)' in. biith. 

Seven children have been born to Mr. 
and Airs. Harrison, namely: Katie, who 
stays with her grandfather Combs; Perry 
Homer; Anna M. : Delia H. ; Helen AI. ; 
Alice Ala)-; and Glenn Hobart. In politics 
our subject is a Democrat, but has never 
sought for office. Both he and his esti- 
mable wife are very highly respected in the 
community in which they make their home. 
Air. Harrison come to this locality in mod- 
erate circumstances, and ])y his own efforts 
has prospered, and deserves a prominent 
place in the record of the successful men of 
Loo-an countv. 



THOAIAS N. BEAVER. 

Thomas N. Beaver, who is one of the 
progressive farmers and large landowners 
of Logan county. Illinois, was born here 
June 29, 1857, and is a son of James and 



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J. B, HARRISON. 




MRS. J. B. HARRISON. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



607 



Nancy ( Shasteen ) Bea\-er, wlio are repre- 
sented un another page of this \-olume. Born 
of stnrcly ancestr\- and reared in a pioneer 
home, onr snliject grew to manhood pos- 
sessed of both good liealth, good morals and 
aljundant energ_\-. His eihication was ob- 
tained in the district school known as ^lUl 
Gro\'e school, in Corwin township, where his 
attendance was constant during the winter 
months until he was sixteen vears of age. 
His father's farming and cattle interests 
were extensive, and he assisted him very 
material!}-, until his marriage. 

On October -'5, 1876. Mr. Beaver mar- 
ried Aliss Jennie lanson, of St. Louis, Mis- 
souri, who was born in Fulton county, Illi- 
nois, September (>, nS^O. She was a daught- 
er of ^^'ilIiam lanson, a native of England, 
and his wife, Matilda ( Merker) lanson. a 
native of Illinois, in which state they were 
married. As a young man ]Mr. lanson came 
to America and located in Fulton county, 
Illinois. When his daughter, Mrs. Beaver, 
\vas about three vears of age, he started on 
a journey to England, and as he was never 
afterward heard from, it was suppcjsed that 
he died on board the ship. The mother sur- 
\-i\e(l until her little daughter was six vears 
old, and then she too passed away. In their 
family were six children, namely: John, 
died unmarried, at the age of twenty-three 
years: Xeoma married Edward 0'Flarrit\', 
and they lived until death, in Havana, Illi- 
nois, and left a family of si.x children : Mary 
married Eli Gray, of Havana, and both are 
now deceased: Grace is the widow oi John 
Stull and resides in Ha\ana : Moses married 
Belle Gilson and li\'es in Dakota: Jennie is 
now Mrs. Beaxer : and Charles first married 
Anna Kilensbarger. and second, Caroline 
\\'itter, and resides in Mason county, Illi- 
nois. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Beaver seven children 

32 



were l:)orn, as follows: Zella L., born ^Nlay 
13, 1878, was married October 7, 1897, to 
\\'illiam Richards, a farmer of Corwin 
township, and they have two children, Nola 
-uid an infant daughter: Sadie, born June 
24. 1881, is at home: Edgar and Edward, 
twins, were born Xovemljer 12, 1882, and 
the former died August 28, 1898, but the 
latter is at home: Alma, born August 15, 
1888, Clarence E., born May i, 1893, and 
Phoebe C, born June 21, 181)5, are all at 
home. 

After his marriage Mr. Beaver came to 
the farm which the famil\- now enjoy and 
occupy. It consists of four hundred and 
forty-nine acres of rich land, with a most 
attractixe residence, commodious barns anfl 
accommodations for large herds of hig'h 
grade stock, Mr. Bea\-er making a specialty 
of shorthorn cattle. .Ml of his grain raised 
on the farm is fed to cattle and hogs. In 
politics he is a .stanch Republican, and he 
and his wife are among the leading mem- 
bers and supporters of the Methodist church. 



r.I':.\"JAMIX F. GARDXER, M. D. 

One of the oldest practicing physicians 
and highly esteemed citizens of the state 
of Illinois is Benjamin F. Gard- 
ner, who is one of a famil}- of twelve chil- 
dren born to Rodman and Mar\- ( W'orstell ) 
(Gardner. The father of (jur subject was 
born in .\ew" ^'ork state and went to Ohio 
when a child. There he grew to manhood, 
following the life of a farmer. His death 
occurred in that state in 1865 and the 
mother died in i88r. During the war of 
1812 he served his country faithfully, de- 
fending the stars and stripes until hostili- 
ties ceased. 



6o8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Dr. (iardner was bcirn cm the ukl Imnie- 
.-ttad in Brown connty. Ohiu. June jj. iBiS, 
and his Iwvhood days were spent in attend- 
ance at tlie cummoai schciols. ^^'l^en a mere 
lad he learned the blacksmith's trade, and 
with his meager earnings suppurted his 
mother and sister, while he devoted his leis- 
ure time to the study of medicine. At the 
age of twenty he began his preparation for 
that profession tmder the directions of Dr. 
Xorris, of Cincinnati, graduating from his 
institution and from the Ohio Eclectic ^led- 
ical Institute of the same city in the year 
of i860. Prior to his graduation he prac- 
ticed for some twenty years, serving four- 
teeen years in the profession at ^^'aynesville, 
Ohio, four years at St. Louis, ^lissnnri, and 
one vears at .\lt<in. Illinois. In March, 18(1(1, 
he moved to .\tlanta, Logan county, where 
he has since practiced and is lodked upon as 
one of the most conscientiijus and careful 
phvsicians in the county. Immediately 
upon coming to this city he lifted up a hanil- 
some drtig store with xarinus nindern ap- 
pointments and a full and well assorted line 
of drugs, and here he has since continued 
to do a prosperous and successful business. 

On the 14th of February, 1847, the Doc- 
tor was tmited in marriage with Mary 
Hauser. Eight children blessed this happy 
union, of wdiom si.\ are still living. 

Dr. Gardner has taken an active and 
leading ])art in politics, having always Ijeen 
a stanch and ardent supporter of the Re- 
publican party. In fact, he was rme of the 
originators of that political body in both 
DeWitt and Logan counties. Although al- 
ways a l)usy man, he still found time to de- 
vote to the interests of the public and the 
party. He stumped both DeA\"itt and Lo- 
gan counties during Lincoln's memorable 
campaign and his advice has often and suc- 
cessfully been sought, not only by those in 



public life, lint b\- a large numljer oi friends. 
W hilc, as has been said, he has alwavs ta- 
ken a dee]) interest in the welfare of his 
party, he has always declined to become a 
candidate for office. At the present time 
he holds the ])osition of \'ice-president of the 
-Atlanta National Bank. 

The Doctor, although in his eighty-third 
\ ear, is active and energetic and still follows 
closely the currents ex'ents of the day and 
keeps himself well informed on matters per- 
taining to his profession and still attends 
a.nd jirescribes for manv of his patients 
whom he has attended for so many years. 
His store still presents the attractive ap- 
pearance that it did in his more active life, 
it being slocked at present with drugs and 
druggist sundries \alued at oxer thirty-fne 
hundred dollars. 

In his long professional career he has 
much to lie jiroud of. He ha.s Ijeen emi- 
nenth' successful in the practice of his 
chosen profession. His strength has been 
in a good education, a sotmd knowledge of 
meilicine. and a careful studv of the pa- 
tients under his care. His pri\ate life has 
been as ]nn'e as his professional life and he 
lias e\er held the highest esteem and con- 
fidence of the comnumit}- in which he has 
so long dwelt. 



CH.\RLES P. BRIDGE. 

( )ne of the most enterprising and suc- 
cessful men in Elkhart is Charles P. Bridge, 
w hose tenacit}- and business capacity is best 
illustrated liy the fact that for twenty years 
he has missed lint one pay-day as telegraph 
operator and station agent iov the Chicago 
& Alton Railroad Company. He came to 
Elkhart in 1881, and has since made his in- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



609 



iluence felt in the business and social life of 
the town, and is foremost in promoting the 
hest interests tlnereof. The industry and 
thrift which liaxe characterized his career 
are noticeable in many ways, and are indi- 
cated by his delightful home and fine resi- 
dence, besides personal property in Elm- 
wdod and Chicago. Politically a Republi- 
can, he has held many local offices, and is at 
present city treasurer and a member of the 
village board. Fraternally he is associated 
with the Elkhart Lodge, Xo. 307. Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and witli 
the Modern \\'oodmen of America. Him- 
self and wife are memljers uf the Ciairt iif 
Honor, and are memliers, workers and con- 
tributors to the !\Iethcdist Episcopal church, 
of which Mr. Bridge has been Sunday-school 
superintendent for twelve years. 

L'ntil his twelfth year Mr. Bridge lived 
in Xew York, where he was born January 
27. 1847. a son of Israel and Mary .\nn 
I Henderson ) Bridge, natives, respectively, 
of Vermont and _Xew York. The parents 
were married in Xew York and emigrated to 
Illinois in 1857, locating near Joliet, where 
tlie father engaged in farming, and where 
he lived until his death, in 1894, his wife 
having pre-deceased him in 1888. He was 
a Republican in natiunal politics, and was 
a member of tlie ^lethodist Episcopal 
church. To Mr. and ^Irs. Israel Bridge 
were bt rn seven children, namely : James 
H. marrie<l Harriet Root, of Xew ^'ork, and 
<lied in Joliet. Illinois, September 22, 1901 ; 
Henrv. who lives near Elwoo<l. served dur- 
ing the entire Civil war in the One Hun- 
dredth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was 
wounded in the hand at the battle of Chick- 
amauga: Jane, who Ijecame the wife of J. 
Russel. resided near Elwood on a farm, and 
died about 1881 : Rhoda is the wife of \\'. 
S. Grant, who is enga,ged in the general 



merchandise and agricultural business at El- 
wood; Fannie is the wife of F. A. Thomp- 
son, a carpenter and contractor at Elwood; 
Charles P. is the next of the family; and 
John H., who married Sarah Shaffer, is the 
station agent for the Chicago & Alton Rail- 
road Company at Wenona, Illinois. 

The education of Charles P. Bridge was 
acquired in the public schools of X'ew York 
and Joliet, Illinois, and at the age of eight- 
een he commenced farming, which occupa- 
tion he followed for two years, after which 
he engaged in clerking in a mercantile estab- 
lishment for si.x years. On the 20th of Sep- 
tember, 1868, at Elwood, Illinois, he mar- 
ried Miss Emma Spafford, who was born at 
that place, September 20, 185 1, a daughter 
of Miles and Alary (Shoemaker) Spafford, 
natives of Canada and Illinois, respectively. 
Her parents were also married in Elwood, 
and had si.x children, namely : Emma, wife 
of our subject ; Elizabeth, wife of Robert 
Thornburgh, a farmer; Rebecca, wife of 
J. A. Grant, also a farmer ; Elias, who is 
now engaged in literary work, and, with his 
two eldest sons, Wallace and ^Miles, served 
in the Spanish-American war as a meml^er 
(if the Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry; 
Charles, a railroad conductor, li\ing in Clin- 
ton, Iowa: and Wallace B., a dentist of Chi- 
cago. The father of these children, who 
was a merchant of Elwood, enlisted during 
the Civil war in the One Hundredth Illinois 
\'olunteer Infantry, and was killed at the 
battle of Chickamauga. His widow subse- 
quently married John Russell, a native of 
Illinois, who had Ijeen a comrade at arms in 
the regiment with Air. Spafford. After 
farming for some years Mr. and Mrs. Rus- 
sell are now living in retirement in Elwood. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bridge have been born 
five children, namely: Myrtle, Ijorn at E1-. 
wood, June 16, 1872, married G. H. Brady. 



6io 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



general train dispatcher for the lUinois Ter- 
minal Road at Alton, and has one son, Har- 
old. Mrs. Brady was formerly a telegraph 
operator, and assisted her father in his wnrk. 
Charles M. Bridge, l)orn at Elwood, Xu- 
vemher 4. 1S76, married Bertha Drake, of 
Elkhart, Illinois, and is chief clerk of the 
Chicago & .\lton freight department at Jol- 
iet, and a memher of the Knights of Pythias 
of Springfield, the Young Men's Christian 
Association and the Epworth League. Edi- 
son W. Bridge, horn at Coal Branch Junc- 
tion, Decemher 31. 1878. is auditor in the 
office of the Central Pacific & St. Louis Rail- 
road Company, at Springfield, Illinois, and 
is a memher of the Knights of Pythias at 
Springfield. Eloise, horn in 1873. died in 
1889. Arthur, born February 8, 1885. is 
assisting his father in his work. 

.\fter his marriage Mr. Bridge engaged 
in clerking in a dry goods store for three 
years, and then undertook to learn the art 
of telegraplu', his first employment in this 
line being as night operator in the office at 
Elwood. -At the end of three years he re- 
moved to Coal City. Illinois, and for twi 
years was agent and day operator, after 
which he filled a similar jiositinn in Joliet 
for the same length of time. In 1881. as 
heretofore stated, he came to Elkhart, and 
has since been identified with the most pub- 
lic-spirited undertakings of his adopted 
town. 



Ttll)M.\S .\. (i.\S.V\\'.VV. 

Thomas .\. (kisaway. a grain dealer and 
attorney-at-law at Latham. Illinois, was 
Ijorn in Lake Fork township. Logan county. 
.Ni'gust 20. i8C)5. and is a son of James 
and Martha ( Colwell) Gasaway. His par- 
ents were both natives of Ross count\', Ohio. 



and were descendants of the Gasaways of 
the Shenandoah \'alle}', Virginia. They re- 
mo\-ed to Springfield, Illinois, in 1851, and 
from there came to Logan county, where 
the father entered land the following year, 
and at the time of his death, which occurred 
in i8<;3, when he was about si.xty-nine years 
of age, he o\vned aliout seven hundred acres 
of land on which he had exteiisively carried 
on farming and stock-raising. His widow 
survi\-ed him until 1894, wheu she, too, 
])assed away. 

Our subject was next to the xoungest in 
order of birth in a family of ten children, 
of wIkuu se\"en are still living. Like the 
majorit\' of farmer bo}'s. Mr. (jasaway 
learned to work upon his father's farm, and 
attended the district school until he 
was si.xteen, when he entered the Lin- 
C(.iln Cni\-ersitv. from which he was grad- 
uated in 1886 with degree of Ph. B. Later 
lie was graduated from Cumberland Cni- 
versitv at Lebanon, Tennessee, with degree 
inf L. L r>., in the class of 1898. 

In the fall and winter of i88fi and 
1887 he taught school near Lincoln, 
and after graduating from Cumberland 
Cniversity he taught school in La- 
tham during. 1891 and 1892, when he 
w;is admitted to the bar and began the \n-dc- 
tice of his profession at Decatur, Illinois. 
After a few months he returned to Lathaiu, 
and ;i])out 1898 became interested in the 
grain business, which he has carrietl on quite 
e\tensi\-ely in addition to the practice of his 
profession. Mr. Gasaway is a man of great 
ability : is a true student of human nature, 
and bases his judgments upon his own in- 
formation gleaned from his clients and wit- 
nesses themselves. The true lawyer is born, 
ni t made. The natural and irresistalile bent 
of his mind was in the direction of the legal 
prcfessio-n. Init he readily accejjted close ap- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6ii 



plication and constant study, as well as 
Iiard work as iiut a natural part of the prep- 
aration to aid him (inward and upward. 

On December 28, 1886, Mr. Gasaway 
was married to Miss Mary E. Bentley, of 
Logan county, a daughter of George R. and 
Sarah J. ( Kretzinger) Bentley. Of the 
family born to this union five are still li\"- 
ing. namely : Edwin Lee, born in Latham ; 
Walter Dean : Paul Revere : Ansta Jean- 
nette; and Mary E. 

From boyhocd I\Ir. Gasaway has been 
an ardent advocate of the ]M-inciples of De- 
mocrac}-, and while not on office-seeker, he 
has been called upon to respond to the de- 
mands of his party upon his time and abil- 
ity. His political honors ha\e been many 
and to the gift of each he has added the 
lustre of his learning, the value of his in- 
\incible integrity, sound wisdom and inde- 
fatigable devotion to duty. In addition to 
holding all of the minor offices of the citv, 
lie is now serving as mayor of Latham, and 
under his wise, judicial administration the 
cit}' lias de\'eliipe(l in a remarkable degree 
and the tax payers ha\e been given a clean 
government free from party corruption. 
They have the satisfaction of knowing that 
the office of the chief executive of their citv 
is tilled by a man whose entire record is 
without a blemish and whose abilities are 
such as to enable him to discharge the oner- 
ous duties pertaining to such a position. 

Socially Mr. Gasaway is a charter mem- 
ber of Latham Lodge. Xo. 853. A. F. & .\. 
AI., in which oriler he now holds the po- 
sition of Senior Warden, and he is also a 
member elf Alount Pulaski Chapter, No. 
121, R. A. M., Mount Pulaski Command- 
ery, Xo. 39, K. T. In addition Mr. Gas- 
away is a member of the Knights of Pyth- 
ias, he having been connected with this or- 
der since he was twenty-one, and has passed 



all the chairs and represented the lodge in 
the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of 
t!ie Modern W'oo'lmen of America. Mr. 
(jasaway and his famih- reside in a beau- 
tiful home, which he has erected, and are 
surrounded b\- all the comforts of life. The 
success which has attended Ins efforts illu- 
strates what can Ije accomplished by stead- 
last efforts and untiring industry, combined 
with great natural ability. 



P. J. TELFER. 



Among the worthy and prominent citi- 
zens of Logan county is P. J. Teller, who 
resides on the farm on which he was born 
in Elkhart township, X'ovember 21, 1856. 
He was a son of John and Emeransa ( Pot- 
ter) Telfer, the former of wdiom was born 
in Dumfries-shire, Scotland, and the latter in 
Cortland county, Xew Yurk, their meeting 
and marriage take place in Elkhart town- 
shi]). Logan county. Illinois, in 1855. 

John Telfer, the father of our subject, 
entered one hundred and sixty acres of gov- 
ernment land and bought an addditional one 
hundred and sixty acres, adding still more 
land as time went on until he posessed four 
hundred and sixty acres in this township 
and three hundred and sixty acres in Will- 
iamsville township. Sangamon county. Mr. 
Telfer was a life-long Democrat and held 
the greater number of the local offices, serv- 
ing his township with exceeding good judg- 
ment and unflinching integrity. His death, 
which occurred March 8. 1889, left a va- 
cant place in the Presbyterian church as well 
as in his home. He was buried in the old 
W'illiamsville cemetery. The mother of our 
subject still survives, and makes her home 
with a daughter in W'illiamsville township, 
Sangamon county. 



6l2 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



P. J. Telfer was tlie eldest in the family 
of seven children, the others being as fol- 
lows: ]\Iary. who married George A. Hob- 
kirk and resides in ^^'illiamsville township, 
Sangamon connt y : Altheda, who died at 
the age of three years; Jessie, who was the 
wife O'f William Thompson, a resident of 
Sangamon connty, and died in 1886; Bram- 
ble, who died at the age of two years ; Em- 
ma, who died at the age of two years; and 
Thomas A., who married Alasey Cooper and 
resides in Seward county, Nebraska. 

Our subject obtained his education -n 
the l^mith scliool-house, now known as the 
Prairie Seminary, in W'illiamsville town- 
ship. Sangamon count}-, where he continued 
his studies until the age of eighteen, remain- 
ing at home until the time of his marriage, 
whicli took place October ii, 1883, in Elk- 
hart township, Logan county. His bride 
Avas Miss Lillie J. Holjkirk, who was born 
at Mt. Pulaski. Illinois, December'jj, 1864. 
and is a daughter of William Hobkirk. a 
native oi Pebbleshire, Scotland, where he 
was born June 9, 1H24. The mother of 
Mrs. Telfer was .\nn 1 Rae) Hobkirk, whn 
was born ]\Iarch 10. 1830, in Dumfries, 
Scotland. The parents came to America 
while young and were married in Xew York 
city June 12, 1836. The folknving year 
they removed to Illinois, the father being 
engaged as overseer of the Mt. Pulaski nur- 
sery. In 1870 Air. Hobkirk removed to 
Elkhart township and settled on a farm, 
where he remained until the death of his be- 
loved wife, August j8, 1891, liroke up liis 
home, and he then came to \We with our 
subject and wife, dying here August 16, 
1899. Both parents are buried in the Alt. 
Pulaski cemetery. In his political sympath\- 
he was a stanch Republican, and a Presbv- 
terian in religious belief. 

Mrs, Telfer was one of a familv of 



se\-en children, as follows: George, who 
married Mary Telfer, the sister of our sub- 
ject, and resides in Sangamon county; Em- 
ma, who married John Dolvin and resided 
in Spencer, Iowa, until her death, December 
13, 1883; Lillie J., who is the wife of our 
subject; and four who died in infancy. 

The children born to Air. and Airs. Tel- 
fer were: One liorn Decerr.ber 28, 1886, 
died in infancy: William J., born September 
-'4, 1888, and Emma R., born Alarch 4, 
1891, are l)oth in school, and are most prom- 
ising students. 

After his marriage Air. Telfer came tO' 
the farm he now occupies and formed a 
partnership with his father, which continued 
until the time of the latter's death. He is 
a large land owner, possessing three hun- 
dred and twenty acres of land on sections 
and 7, I'Llkhart township, and here he has 
been long engaged in raising high-grade 
cattle for market purposes. He is well pre- 
];ared for his extensive farming and stock 
operations, ha\"ing commodious barns and 
sheds, granaries and impro\-ed staliles ar- 
ranged in such a way as to be healthy and 
sanitary, and he has sold thousands of dol- 
lars worth of cattle. Air. Telfar also owns 
one hundred and si.xty acres of land in 
Kearney county, Nebraska, but takes the 
most interest in the breeding of horses, cat- 
tle and hogs, believing that the best is none 
too good. He breeds PVrcheron horses, the 
rjoted "Bagarette" being at the head of his 
stud. His cattle are of the Holstein breed 
and his hogs are Poland Chinas. At one 
time Air. 'i'elfer owned the greatest milch 
cow in the world ; by test she gave eleven 
and <ine-half gallons of milk a day for one 
month, and one day she gave tweh'e 
gallons. Mr. Telfer feeds all of his grain 
to his stock and buvs from his neighbors. 

Aside from his business Air. Telfer is a 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



613 



progressive and lilieral-mindecl citizen, who 
enjoys the esteem and respect of all. So- 
cially he is connected with the Court of 
Honor order and the' Modern \\'oodnicn. 
He votes the Democrat ticket, and for many 
years he has been an elder in the Presliy- 
terian church. 



TOIIX HARRIS. 



John Harris needs no special intrdduc- 
tion to the readers of this volume, hut the 
work wnuld be incomplete without the rec- 
ord of his life. He is a worthy representa- 
tive of the pioneer families of Logan county, 
whose identificalidn with its histurv dates 
back nearl\- half a century. He is one of a 
family of eight children born to John and 
Katherine (Bowlin) Harris, both being na- 
ti\'es of Penns\ Kania. In his \(iunger 
days John Harris. Sr., emigrated to Ohio, 
where he learned the trade of a weaver, 
which he followed for a livelihood, but in 
later }ears became an extensive farmer, 
which occupation claimed his attentiim until 
his death, which occurred ■\Ia\- ii, 1845. ''^ 
Fayette cnuntv, Ohin. when he was sevent\'- 
one years of age. The nrnther died in 1839. 

Our subject's birth occurred April 7. 
iSio, in Perry county, Ohio, and in the 
common schools uf the neighborhood he ac- 
quired a good practical education, which has 
fitted him for the responsible duties of life. 
He continued to assist his father in the cul- 
tixation and improvement of the farm until 
1849, when he lncated in AIcLean c<iunt\-. 
Illinois. In 1854 he moved to Logan coun- 
ty and purchased a quarter section of land, 
which he has put under a hig]\ state of culti- 
vation, and has also acquired ninety-five 
acres more. He was al\\a\s an active farm- 



er, and has one of the most highlv improved 
places in the locality. 

In :\[arch, 1844, was celebrated the mar- 
riage of Mr. Harris and Aliss INIarv Stoth- 
ard. Four children were bom of their 
uniiiii, Init all are now deceased. r^Irs. Har- 
ris de]iarte(l this life June t8, 1848, and in 
i83_> ;i second ceremonv was perfornieil 
which united Mr. Harris in marriage with 
.Mrs. Alary Ann Jnhns<in. To them were 
burn fnur children, as fiillows : Miltnn, 
will! (lied, aged twenty-two vears ; Anna: 
Uell : and Frank. Mrs. Harris was the 
ado]Ued daughter uf Mrs. W'a.^^hburn, and 
tirst married Sanford Jcihnson, 

Mr. Harris gives his political support tO' 
the men and measures of the Democratic 
part)-, lieing. a great admirer of General 
Jackson. He is a devoted member of the 
Metlmdist Episcopal church. At the publi- 
catii.n of this work Mr. Harris is ninety-one 
years of age, and is spending his declining 
_\ears at his nld homestead in Eminence 
township. He has always enjoyed good 
health and has ne\er been (jbliged to use 
glasses. He has taken an acti\-e interest in 
excrylhing which wiiuld in an}- wax- pro- 
mote the welfare of his adopted county. He 
has the happy faculty of making friends 
readily and strengthening the ties of all 
1riendslii]is as time advances. 



REA". J.XMES TUOHV. 

Ivt\-. James Tudhy, who was for many 
years the honored rector of St. Patrick's 
Catholic church in Lincoln, Illinois, was 
born June ir, 183O, in County Clare, Ire- 
land, and when quite young attended the 
Killalse Classical Academy, which was con- 
ducted by his father. In the fall of 1854 he 



6i4 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



left his native land with the intention of 
studying for the priesthoixl in the seminary 
of St. Sulpice, Baltimore, [Maryland. 

After completing- his i)hiloS(iphical and 
theological studies Father Tuohy was or- 
dained a ]>riest, Decemher 12. 1858, in St. 
Joseph's CatJiedral at Buffalo. Xew York, 
by the Right Re\'. John Timon, D. D., who 
was at that time bishop of Buffalo. After 
spending se\eral _\'ears in missionary work- 
in western Xew York, Father Tuohv came 
to Illinois in 1875, and took charge of the 
Catholic church at Macomb, McDonough 
county, where he remained until transferred 
to Lincoln in 1 S7S. He continued his pas- 
toral \v(jrk here until his death, which oc- 
curred Feliruarv u. 1901. 

On the iJth of Decemlier, 1883. Father 
Tuoln- celebrated his silver jubilee, it l>eing 
the twentv-fifth anni\-ersarv of his ordina- 
tion to the priesthood, and on that auspicious 
occasion was the recipient of an address and 
several valuable presents from the members 
of his congregation. He was untiring in 
Ids work for the churcli. and was a man 
highly esteemed l)y all. regardless of creed. 



PHILLIP H. OYLER. ^.L D. 

The successful phx'sician is not he wh.i 
has a broad and comprehensive knowledge 
of the ])rinciples of medicine. biU lie who has 
the ability to accurately apjily his knowl- 
edge to the needs of suffering humanity. 
Many a man is \-ersed in principles who 
does not pass beyond the mediocrit}- in his 
Avork. owing to the lack nf quickness 
of perception and of power to anticipate re- 
sults, but Dr. Oyler does not belong to that 
class. He is wideh' acknowledged to be 
one of the most skillful and able ph}'sicians 



and surgeons of Mount Pulaski and the sur- 
rounding country and therefore enjovs a 
large patronage. 

A nati\e of Pennsyhania, the Doctor 
was born in Carlisle, October 13. 1846, a 
son of George and Sarah (Hickman) Oy- 
ler. 1 lis paternal grandfather, (ieorge Oyler, 
was a native of England, and on coming 
to the Lhiited States located in Baltimore, 
Ahn-yland, where his son, George Oyler, 
Jr.. was born in 1809. He became a car- 
penter and Ijuilder by trade, following that 
occupation for man\- years. He married 
Sarah Hickman, who was born in Pennsyl- 
\ania in 1816, a daughter of Philip Hick- 
man. Both Mr. and Mrs. Oyler, the par- 
ents of the Doctor, continued to reside in 
the Ke\'stone state until called to the home 
be\-iind. the father d\'ing in his eigthv- 
fourth years, the mother in the se\enty-sec- 
ond year of her age. 

Dr. 0\ler is the sixth of their eleven 
children, all of whom reached adult age. 
He acquired his early education in Carlisle, 
Pennsyhania. In 1862 he offered his ser- 
vices to the goxernment at \\'ashington and 
thence on until the close of the war served 
in many capacities in lieu of the soldier, ac- 
ce])ting all the hardships au'l privations of 
the enlisted men. He was first with the 
Army of the Potomac; was subsecpiently 
with (ieneral (irant until the army arri\ed 
within sixteen miles of Richmond: and still 
later was with the di\ision of the armv in 
the Shenandoah \ alley. ,^^t the time of 
President Lincoln's assassination he was in 
Frederick Cit\'. Marxland. on his wav to 
\\ ashington. D. C where he r^-eived an 
honorable discharge from the government. 
For his services he received from thirty- 
h\e to fortv-two dollars per month. 

.\t the close of the war Dr. Oyler began 
the studv of medicine with Dr. Keifer, of 




DR. P. H. OYLER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



617 



Carlisle. Pennsylvania, and later in nrder 
to meet his expenses while preparing for his 
profession, he went to Indianapolis, Indi- 
ana, in 1867. and engaged 'v^ the manufac- 
ture of the Sarxen patent buggy wheel, by 
which means he accumulated o\-er three 
thousand dollars. He then resumed the 
study of medicine in connectidU with the 
drug trade. Later he entered the Louis- 
ville :\Iedical College of Louisville. Ken- 
tucky, where he was graduated in the class 
of 1878. but this did not end his research 
in the the field of medicine. He has always 
Iieen a close student, reading many medical 
j(jurnals and text books, and in 1892 he 
pursued a post graduate course in the Poly- 
clinic College of Chicago, and in the spring 
of 1901 he took a complete course in the 
Philadelphia Post-Graduate School. Re- 
turning to :\Iount Pulaski, where he had first 
located in 1878. he resumed the active prac- 
tice of his profession and has easily main- 
tained a position in the foremost ranks of 
the medical fraternity here, for he is well 
versed in his chosen calling and his efforts 
have l^een attended by excellent results. 
The Doctor is surgeou for both divisions 
of the Illinois Central Railrr.ad passing 
through Mount Pulaski. He has a large and 
well appointeil office and has recently equip- 
ped commodious cjuarters in \\hich any pa- 
tient counected with the railroad service 
may receive the best care after meeting 
with an accident. 

In Xovemlier. 1868. at Indianapolis. In- 
diana. cKCurred the marriage of Dr. Oyler 
and Miss Sarah J. Westover. a daughter 
of Jonathan M. and ^Nlary ( Hean ) West- 
over, the former a native of Xew York, 
and the latter of England. The Doctor and 
his wife have three children: Harry S.. 
■who is mentioned lielow : Bessie Lee and 
JMav Irene. 



In affairs pertaining to the city"s wel- 
fare Dr. 0}ler takes a deep interest and 
for a number of years he rendered effective 
service in liehalf of Mount Pulaski as a 
member of the city council. During his 
term of office he did the preliminary work 
and got the water works established. He is 
a prominent Mason, being connected with 
Mount Pulaski Lodge, of which he was 
master three years, and which he repre- 
sented in the grand lodge of the state the 
same length of time. He is also a mem- 
ber of Mount Pulaski Council and Mount 
Pulaski Chapter. R. A. M.. of which he 
wa;J high priest three years, and was on 
the credential committee of the grand 
chapter in 1901. He h.as served as 
eminent commander of Mt. Pulaski Com- 
manderv. Xo. 39. K. T.. and has represented 
it in the grand cmnmandery of the state 
three years. For many years he has also 
been trustee of the Masonic building of 
Mount Pulaski. In the line of his profes- 
sion the Doctor has various memljership re- 
lations, belonging the Central Illinois Med- 
ical Society : the International Railway Sur- 
o-eons Association: the American Medical 
Association: the Misisssippi Valley Medi- 
cal Society ; and the State Medical Society, 
of which he was for one years first vice- 
president, a fact which indicates his high 
standing in the profession. Close applica- 
tion, thorough study and a deep interest 
in his calling from the humanitarian stand- 
p,,i„t— these are the salient features in his 
enviable success. 



HARRY SCHUYLl'R OYLER. ^1. D. 

Dr. Harry Schuyler Clvler. who has 
recently become a member of the medical 
fraternity of Logan county was born in 



6i8 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Indianapolis. Indiana. I'Jeceinlier j6, 1870. 
and is a son of Dr. Piiillip H. and Sarali J. 
(\Vesto\'er) Ovler. a si<etch of wliom will 
be fovmcl elsewhere in this volnnie. Our 
subject came with his parents to Mount Pu- 
laski. Illinois, in 1878. and received his early 
education in the public and high schools of 
that place, graduating from the latter in 
1891. In the fall of the same year he en- 
tered the University of Illinois at Cham- 
paign, where he spent four ^ears. taking a 
special chemical course, and was then ap- 
pointed as assistant to the chair of chemis- 
try in the Marion-Sims College of Medicine. 
St. Louis, Missouri, whicii position is 
usually only given to a graduate physician 
and which he acceptably filled for four years, 
in the meantime taking the regular medical 
course. He was graduated \\ ith hon(.)rs in 
the class of igoi, and is now thoroughly 
equipped for his life work. Socially he is 
a member of Mcmnt Pulaski Lodge. A. F. & 
A. ^I. 

The D(jctor was married Se])tember 12. 
1899. to Miss Emeline Dui¥, of Lincoln, a 
daughter of William D. anel Emeline H. 
(Larison) Dufif. She was bc'n October 22. 
1870. and was educated at the Lincoln high 
school. She is a memher of the Woman's 
Club of Lincoln. Illinois, and charter member 
of Mount Pulaski Chapter, Order of the 
Eastern Star. 



ADOLPH O. \'OXDERLEITH. 

Few men are more prominent or more 
widely known in the enterprising town of 
Mount Pulaski than Adolph O. A'onder- 
leith. He has been an important factor in 
business circles for a number of vears and 
his popularity is well deserved, as in him 



are eml)raced the characteristics of an un- 
bending integrit}-. unaiiating energy and in- 
dustry that ne\'er Hags. He is public-spir- 
ited and thoroughly interested in whatever 
tends to promote the advancement and pro- 
gress of the town and therefore well de- 
serves representation in th.is volume. 

A native of Logan county, ]\Ir. Vonder- 
leith was horn in Mount Pulaski township, 
Xox'emlier 2. 185^, and is a son of Henrv 
;md Catherine ( Weckel ) \'onderleith, both 
of whom were nati\-es of Germany, the fa- 
ther born in Hanover, the mother in \\ ur- 
temberg. Jn earl\- life they came to the 
Lnited States and were married in Logan 
county, Illinois. It was in the year 1838 
that the father cr(issed the Atlantic and af- 
ter establishing his home in this localitv he 
worked at his trade of brick-laying. Later 
he owned and o])erated a small farm ad- 
joining the \illage of Mount Pulaski. His 
death occurrred in 1886 at the age of sixty- 
nine, and his wife passed away in 1878, 
when sixty-fi\'e )ears of age. Thev were 
the parents of six children who reached 
_\ears of maturity, and Peter and John died 
in childhood. The other memliers of the 
fan:ily -were: Elizabeth, who became the 
wife of G. L. Schafer. a blacksmith: Anna, 
wife of C. F. Scliafer. a hardware merchant 
of ^louiU I'ulaski : John M.. who died in 
1885: Catherine, the widow of Henrv ]\Ieis- 
ter : Adolph. of this review : and (jeorge W ... 
who' died in 1901. 

To the village schoools Adolph A'onder- 
leith is indel)ted for the educational pri\-- 
ileges which he received. He pursued his 
studies in the old courthouse, which had been 
built b)' his father and which was used for 
school purposes after the removal of the 
county seat to Lincoln. His father also 
erected the first brick residence in IMount 
Pulaski. After completing his education.- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



619 



the son learned the blacksmith's trade un- 
der the direction of G. L. Schafer and fol- 
lowed that pursuit for fifteen years, thus 
o-ainine a start in life and securing therel)}- 
the capital to embark in other fields of activ- 
ity. On abandoning- his trade he became the 
general superintendent of the Union Coal 
Company at Mount Pulaski, a position 
which he liL-ld for seyen years. While still 
working at the blacksmith's trade he estab- 
lished a brickyard in 1877 at the edge of the 
city, and successfully carried it mi while 
with the coal coanpany. continuing its op- 
eratiou until 1893, and giving employment 
to fifteen or sixteen men. In 1898 he be- 
came a partner of R. D. Clark in the real 
estate . insurance and loan business un- 
der the firm name of Vonderleith & Clark. 
Thev handle considerable valuable property- 
and ha\-e cnnducted some important real- 
estate transfers. They write fire insurance 
and make loans on city and farm property- 
and in all the departments of their liusiness 
they are meeting with credital)le success, 
having now a large clientage. 

On September 7, 1879, 'Sir. \'onder- 
leith was united in marriage to i\Iiss Eliza- 
beth Lipp. of Lincon, Illinois, a daughter 
of John N. and Catherine Lipp, who were 
early settlers of the county. Their children 
were Henry L. and Walter A., bnth grad- 
uates of the high school of Mount Pulaski, 
and Lena, who died at the age of five. The 
wife and mother died August 14, 1887. and 
Mr. Vonderleith was married October 8, 
1889, to Anna Lipp, a sister of liis former 
Avife. To' this union has been born one son, 
Julius Edward, who is now in the ]\Iount 
Pulaski school. 

L'lxjn its organization in 1884. ^Ir. \'oii- 
derleith became a director of the People's 
Savings & Loan Association of INlnunt Pu- 
laski and has since held the position and is 



also at present filling the office of secretary. 
In his business affairs he has prospered and 
his success is the legitimate outcome of his 
(iw'n well directed labors. Energetic and 
determined at the outset of his career he has 
advanced steadily as the years have gone 
])y and his earnest purpose has seen fulfill- 
ment in his present pmsperity. He has 
been active and influential in the alTairs of 
the town and has ser\-ed as a memVier and 
president of the village board. ]\Ir. Von- 
derleith was one of the charter members of 
the Knights of Pythias lodge and was its 
first chancellor. He is also a charter mem- 
ber of the ]\Iodern Woodmen nf America. 
He belongs tu the Second Lutheran church 
and withholds his cooperation from no 
movement or measure which tends to ad- 
vance the material, intellectual or moral 
progress of the community. His entire life 
lias been passed here and those who have 
known him from boyhood are numliered 
among his stanchest friends — a fact which 
indicates that his has been a useful and up- 
right career. 



WlLLLV^l SH.VW. 

William Shaw, one of the honored vet- 
erans of the Civil war, whose home is on 
section 15. East Lincoln township, has been 
a resident of this county since 1855, and has 
been actively identified with its agricultural 
interests. He was born in Liverpool, Eng- 
land, July 2!, 1838, a son of Joseph and 
Elizalieth ( Grilfin ) Shaw. The father was 
born in England, August 14, 18 16, and the 
mother in the same country, of Welsh an- 
cestry. Xovember 30, 1817. They \vere 
self-educated and jieople of the highest re- 
si::ectabilit\-. In 1848 the family emigrated 



■620 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to America and settled in Ohio, and in 1855 
.took up their residence in Logan county. 
IlHnois. In his native land the father fol- 
lowed the blacksmith's trade, but here he 
engaged in farming until his removal to Lin- 
coln, where he spent the last five years of 
his life in retirement from active lal)or. He 
-died February 9, 1901, and his wife passed 
away April 5, 1899. They were the par- 
ents of six children, of whum two were born 
in England and one died in that country. 
The three now li\-ing are William, our sub- 
ject; Rachel, wife of William Musick, of 
Douglas county, Kansas: and Leah, wife of 
Andrew Pinner, of York count}", Ne- 
braska. 

William Shaw received fuit a limited ed- 
.ucation- in the comtnon schools of this coun- 
ty. Being the oldest son, he had tO' assist 
in the work of the farm during his boyhood 
and youth. On the inauguration of the 
Civil war he responded to the President's 
first call for volunteers bv enlisting as a pri- 
vate in the Seventh Illinois Infantr\-. jjut 
was afterward promotetl to corporal of 
•Compan\- H, and still later to sergeant. He 
participated in the battles of Fort Henry, 
Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Swallow 
Bluff, Florence, Alabama, and AllatDcma 
Pass. After the last named engagement 
there was but one commissioned officer in 
the regiment able to assume charge. Mr. 
Shaw followed Sherman on his celebrated 
march to the sea. and took part in the cap- 
ture of Savannah, Georgia, and Columbia, 
South Carolina, and the battle of Benton- 
ville. Xorth Carolina, besides several minor 
engagements. After serving three years 
the regiment veteranized, and he remained 
at the front until hostilities ceased, being 
honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois. 
July 12. 1865. He was slightly injured 
several times but never seriouslv wounded. 



On his return to Logan county Mr. 
Shaw commenced farming on his own ac- 
count, and soon purchased eighty acres of 
land on section 15, East Lincoln township, 
where he still resides. He has since success- 
full}- engaged in general farming. At the 
time of purchase the land was swampy, but 
he has tiled and drained the place and con- 
verted it into a well-improved and highly 
producti\e farm. 

Mr. Shaw was married, April 27, 1871, 
to Miss Hannah Cutlip, who was l>orn in 
Pike county, Ohio, in 1848, but was living 
in Logan county, Illinois, at the time of 
their marriage. Eight children blessed this 
imion, namelv : Elizal:)eth. Martha, Mary. 
Minnie, Ethel, and Edith and Edie, twins; 
and William Tecumseh, who died in in- 
fancy. They are jjeing educated in the 
C(3mmon schools. 

Mr. Shaw gives his support to all church 
and charitable work, and is an honored 
member of Leo ^^'. Myers Post, No, 285, 
G. .\. R., and the Union Veteran Union of 
Lincoln. Politically he is a Repulslican, 
but in liical affairs supports the men best 
(|ualified to fill the offices, regardless of 
jiarty lines. He has never sought political 
])referment. though he held the ofifice of 
school director many years, and has always 
taken a commendable interest in public 
afi'airs. In years of peace, no less than in 
those of war, he has bravely performed his 
duty, and is justly entitled to a place in the 
nation's roll of honor. 



XAXKE HARMS. 



Xanke Harms, a leading, influential and 
wealthy farmer residing on section 2. 
Prairie Creek township, has been a resident 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6211 



of Logan cnuntv for more than a tliird of a 
centurx', and during this period he has risen 
from a humble financial [xisitinn to^ one of 
affluence. Brooking no obstacles that cnuld 
be overcome through determined and earn- 
est efifort. he ha.s steadily advanced toward 
the goal of prosperity, and his fine farms are 
now the \isible exitlence of his actixe and 
useful career. 

Mr. Harms is a native of Germany, burn 
Ai)ril 14. 1S44. and laie of the five children 
of Harm and Tina ( Rademaker ) Harms, 
who were also nati\-es of the same cuiintr)-, 
whence they came to .\merica about iSjj. 
settling in Or\il township, Logan county, 
Illinois, w litre the father spent his remain- 
ing davs in honorable retirement from la- 
l)or. He died in Emden in 1884, and his 
widow is still li\-ing in that town, at the 
ripe old age of eighty-five \ears. Their 
children were Nanke; Ella, who is the will- 
ow of D. Erns. and resides in Iowa; Flaka, 
wife of H. Klokkeiiga : Mattie. wife of 
George Klokkenga, of Eminence township; 
and Katie, wife of John Conrade, of Mis- 
souri. 

Like the other children of the famih', 
Nanke Harms pursued his education in ac- 
cordance with the laws of the fatherland, 
and for a year and a half he ser\-ed as a sol- 
dier in the (ierman army, participating in 
a battle on the 27th of June. i8(>f). In early 
life he learned the carpenter's trade, and fol- 
lowed that pursuit in (iermanx- imtil 1866, 
when, at the age of twenty-two, he crossed 
the briny deep to the new world and came 
at once to Logan county. Renting a room 
in a farm house in I'rairie Creek townshi]), 
he then worked at the carpenter's trade for 
a year, and all of the first houses upon the 
Scully land were built Ijy him. Settling on 
a farm north of lunden, he broke the .SculK' 
land and there remained for ten \ears, after 



which he purchased a farm in the southern 
part of the township, on sections 13, 14, 2^, 
and 24. Tliere he was successfulh- engaged 
in farming for eighteen years, and on the 
exi)iration of that period removed to his 
present farm in 1895. Here on section 2, 
Prairie Creek township, he owns one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of richly de\eloped 
land, and has three hundred and twentv 
acres in other farms and a quarter of .sec- 
tion of laiul in Tazewell county. He car- 
ries on general farming and stock raising, 
and to some e.xtent he has worked at the 
carpenter's trade, a number of buildings in 
the county standing as monuments to his 
skill and handiwork in that direction. .\s 
a farmer he has met with splendid success, 
following the most approved methods of 
.agriculture, so that his fields ha\'e lieen \-ery 
jiroductive. while his stock have lieen an 
eipially profitable source of income. Alto- 
gether he owns six hundred and forty acres 
of fine land. 

Ere leaving the fatherland Mr. Harms 
was united in marriage to Miss Ella Albers. 
a nati\-e of (lermany, and unto them were 
born six children : Harm, who married 
.\nnie Dierks and is li\'ing upon a part oi 
his father's old farm in Prairie Creek town- 
ship: Giek. who wedded Mary Rademaker 
and is li\ing in Tazewell countv : Klaas. at 
home: Tina, a resident of Delavan : Katie, 
who is also li\ing in Delavan: and Ehme, 
at home, 'idie mother died in March. 1885, 
and for his second wife Mr. Harms chose 
Miss Hannah Mattheessen, of (jermain-, a 
daughter of \\'illiam Mattheessen. who died 
in (iermau}'. Two childre'; hav^e lieen liorn 
of the second marriage: Chrisdija and 
Willie. 

lloth Mr. and Mrs. Harms are consist- 
ent members of the (ierman Lutheran 
church of h'mdeii, and in politics he has lieen 



'62 2 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a stalwart Democrat since becdniing a nat- 
uralized citizen. For several }-ears he has 
.ser\-e(l as school director, was county com- 
missioner for three years, and for ten years 
lias ser\-ed as township assessor, being the 
incumbent of the office at the present time. 
When he arrived in Logan county he had 
only ten dollars in his pocket. He pos- 
sessed, howcA-er, a resolute spirit, strong de- 
termination and a willingness to work, and 
such cjualities are the foundation of success. 
As the years have rolled by he has contin- 
uallv added to his possessions until he is 
now numbered among the more substantial 
aericultin-ists of the crimmunit\'. 



ja:^jes beaver. 

.\mong the pioneer settlers and leading 
citizens of this county no one was more 
thoroughly identified with its agricultural 
interests than was James B»aver, who de- 
parted this life November lo, iScjh. A man 
of sterling integrity, of public sjjirit and ])ro- 
nounced activity, Logan county lust in him 
one of her best citizens. 

Mr. Beaver was born in Ohio, January 
9, 1820, and he was a son of Michael and 
Sarah Beaver. On August 18, 1843, he 
was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Shas- 
teen, who was born in Ohiij, [March 17, 
1823. In 1847 lie ^"cl his family decided 
to remove to Illinois and occupy some of the 
rich lands which were being settled upon in 
I-'uUcin county. Leaving their Ohio h(ime. 
the^• took a boat at Portsmouth and sailed 
down the Ohio river until they reached its 
junction with the Mississippi, then up that 
ni>l)le stream until they reached the Illiudis. 
and also up that river to the point known as 
Copperas Creek, an uncle lieing located in 
this vicinity. 



Soon Air. Bea\'er l:)egan farming opera- 
tions, renting a farm and three horses from 
his uncle, Lewis Beaver, near Fairview, in 
Fulton county. Here in the wilds of this 
great prairie state he boldly and courage- 
ously liegan pioneer life. His agricultural 
implements were of the crudest kind, the 
harness of his horses, even, being fashioned 
by himself. His plow was a "Diamond 
pl(.)w," one well known tO' farmers of the 
localit}- at that date. 

f )ne year later Mr. Beaver rented a saw- 
mill on Copperas creek of a man named 
Mongrel, and for two years he very success- 
fully managed this mill, returning then to 
farming on some land rented from John 
G. Graham, located two and one-half miles 
north of Canton, Illinois, and remained 
there for two years, after which he removed 
to Logan county. His first farm in this 
county was one owned Ijy Alvin Barnes, 
southeast of Middletown, and one year later 
he took charge of the farm known as the 
Judge Blackledge Lynn Grove farm, later 
]iurchasing the property upon which he 
spent the remainder of his life. 

Mr. Beaver became the owner of ex- 
tensive tracts of land, which at his death 
A\ere (li\ided among his children. He 
ciwned one section on Sugar Creek, in 
Sheridan townsbijj; nine hundred and forty- 
nine acres in Corwin township; one-half 
section in Thayer county, Nebraska ; one 
hundred and sixty acres in Burt county, Ne- 
braska ; three hundred and fourteen acres in 
\\'est Lincoln township: and seventy acres 
in Broadwell township, this county. 

Althongh Mr. Bea\'er was a most con- 
scientious citizen and a leading member of 
the Republican part}', he could ne\er be in- 
duceil tt) accept public office, remarking that 
he had enough of his own business to more 
than occupy his time, and to make it neces- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



623 



sary to obtain assistance, and he would leave 
office-holding to those who could properly 
attend to such duties. He was a great cat- 
tle raiser and dealer. belicN'ing this ])ranch 
of his lousiness paid best. In the Methodist 
church he was recognized as one of the most 
valued members, as he was one of the most 
liberal contributors. 

The children born to Mr. Beaver and 
wife were as follows: Azariah W., who 
first married Eliza Preston, aiul second, 
America Hickey, resides upon a farm in 
Sheridan township: Edward, who married 
JMatilda Lynson, resided in Illinois until 
1891 and then remoNcd with his family to 
Nebraska, where his first wife died and he 
married Ryldia Waters, and they now are 
residents of Red Oak, Iowa: Syrildia died 
at the age of two years; Se}-niour H., \\\v> 
married Elizabeth Lynson, resides on a 
farm in West Lincoln township: James and 
Nancy, twins, died at the age of one year ; 
Thomas N., who married Jennie lanson, 
resides on a large farm in Corwin township: 
U. S. Grant died in infancy : and \\'illiam 
S., who married Anna Shultz, resides on a 
farm in Corwin township, all of the sur- 
vivors being among the prominent residents 
of their respecti\-e localities antl worthy rep- 
resentati\-es of an honored family. 



ZENO K. \\OOD. 



Among the grain dealers of Logan 
county few have been hinger connected with 
the Ipusiness than Zeno K. \\"ood, of Mt. 
Pulaski, an enterprising and reliable busi- 
ness man, whose progressive spirit, acti\-ity 
and determined purpose have enabled him 
to rise to a position of financial success. 

He was born in \\'est Yarmouth, Massa- 



chusetts, September 29, 1841, and is a son 
of Zeno and Sarah (^Crowell) ^Vood, both 
representatives of old and honored families 
nf the old Bay state, which were of \\'elsh 
origin. Se\eral oif his paternal ancestors 
were masters in the merchant marine. Our 
suljject is of the se\-enth generation of the 
Crowell family in America, and among his 
ancestors were numbered soldiers of the 
Revolutionary war. The original spelling 
of the name was Crowie. The father of our 
subject was born in Massachusetts in 1809, 
and for some years was captain in the mer- 
chant marine and also of a whaling vessel 
out of New Bedford, but he at length aban- 
doned a sea-faring life and turned his at- 

■ tention to merchandising in New Bedford. 
Zeno' K. ^^'■ood, whose name introduces 
this re\iew, spent his boyhood days in South 
Yarmouth, and there he began his educa- 
tion, which was continued at New Bedford 
and completed by graduation at the New 
Bedford high school. He had not yet at- 
tained his majority when the countrv be- 
came engaged in ci\-il war. but with patri- 
otic spirit aroused l)y the attempt of the 
south at secession, he offered his ser\-ices 
to the Union cause, enlisting in July, 1862, 
as a member of Company A, Forty-first 
Massachusetts \'(>Iunteer Infantry, which 
was afterward changed to the Third Massa- 
chusetts Ca\-alry. He was mustered oiit in 
June, 1864, to accept a second lieutenancy 
in the First New Orleans Volunteer In- 
fantr)-, which he assisted in raising, and was 
later promoted to first lieutenant and ad- 
jutant of the regiment. During one year of 
his service he was on the staff of Alajor Gen- 
eral T. W. Sherman, as acting assistant ad- 
jutant general and aide-de-camp. He was 
honorabl)' discharged from the L'nited 
States service at New Orleans, June i, 1886, 

his services l)eing no longer required. 



624 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Soon afterward .Mr. Wood went to Xew 
York cit\- and from there t( Chicago, Ilh- 
nois, where he entered tlie ser\'ice of the 
Chicago. Burlingtiin & (Jnincy Raih'oad 
Company, remaining in the freight audli- 
tor"s office for about twelve months. On 
the expiration of that time he changed the 
field of his labors, liecoming cnnnected with 
a cattle ranch in Kansas. 'I"he year 1875 
\vitnes.sed his arrival in Logan county, 
where he has since made his home. Lo- 
cating in Latham, he engaged in the grain 
Ijusiness, personally superintending his in- 
terests there until 1881. when he came to 
]\[t. Pulaski. Here he established himself 
in the same line, also continuing his grain 
business in Latham, where he is associated 
with Peter ^^Luis. a resident of that place. 
Mr. Wood erected a good elevator at Mt. 
Pula.ski, where his office is also located and 
where he spends most of his time. He is 
one of the oldest grain dealers of the county 
in vears of continuous connection with the 
trade here, and his business has increased to 
large proportioiis, his annual shipments 
being very extensive. 

Mr. W'ood married I\liss Sarah J- Chase, 
a daughter of Harvey and Sarah J. ( Wood- 
i)ur\- ) Chase, and a nati\e <if Illinois, born 
at Macomb. They have two children, a 
son and daughter, Harvey C. a graduate of 
the ^It. Pulaski high school, and ^Margaret 
Crowell, who is now a student in tliat school. 
For several years ^Ir. \\'o(id was a member 
of the school djoard and did effective service 
in the interest of education here, believing 
in maintaining a high standaril in the in- 
stitutions of learning in the city. He has 
also been a memlier of the city council, and 
for three years was one of the trustees of 
the Illinois State Asylum for Feeble Minded 
Children at Lincoln. He is a prominent 
meiuber of ]\It. Pulaski Lodge. No. 87. .\. 



F. & A. ^I.. of which he has served as mas- 
ter: Alt. Pulaski Chapter, Xo. 121, R. A. 
A!.; and Mt. Pulaski Conimandery, Xo. 29, 
K. r. : and in his life he exemplifies the spirit 
of benirtcence and l.)rotherlv kindness which 
forms the basis of the fraternity. In poli- 
tics lie is a stalwart Republican, but has 
ne\er lieen an as])irant for office. He has a 
line home here and is recognized as one of 
the progressix'e citizens (jf Mt. Pulaski, 
where he has now resided for twentv vears. 



JOHX M. TOMLLXSOX. 

John M. Tomlinson. a jirominent farmer 
and stock-raiser residing in Alount I^ulaski 
townshi]). is a nati\e of Indiana. ha\'ing been 
born in Johnson count)', that state. Alarch 
15. 1838. His parents, Isaac and Arminta 
( Dawson) Tomlinson. were both natives of 
Kentucky. In 1841 they came to Illinois, 
settling in the immediate neighborhood of 
Mount Pulaski, where the father began 
farming and continued to follow that occu- 
])ation until his retirement from active labor 
in 1880. at which time he remoxed to the city 
of Alount Pulaski, where he died February 
10. 1892. His wife jiassed away in Ma\-. 
i88c). In addition to his farm work Isaac 
Tomlinson engaged in teaming for many 
years, hauling the merchandise required by 
the business men of Mount Pulaski, which 
was olitained at I'ckin, (Juinc}-, St. Louis 
and e\en Chicago. 

.\t an early age John M. Tomlinson was 
required to assist in the work of the farm 
and teaming, and had l)ut little op])ortunity 
to a\-ail himself of the educational advant- 
ages aft'orded \)V the public schools of that 
dav. His youth and early manhood were 
passed in the school of rough exi)erience 




JOHN M. TOMLINSON. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



627 



-wliich has turned out so many characters of 
sterHng wdrlh whose influence has done so 
much towartl liringing- about tliat trans- 
formation tliat has taken place in later 
years. 

On the 5th of :May, 1859, 'Sir. 'I\milin- 
son married ;\Iiss Mary E. Riddle, who was 
born in .Sanganmn cotmty. Illinois. Decem- 
ber 9, 1S38. and is a daughter of John Rid- 
dle, of that county. To this union live chil- 
dren were born, of whom three survive: 
Frank L., l-llmer S. and Clnrpnce A. 

Mr. Tomlinson began farming upon 
what is now a portion of the home farm sit- 
uated two miles east of ^biunt Pulaski. 
Since reaching manhood he has tieen actix'e- 
Iv engaged in agricultural pursuits, special 
attention lieing given to stock-raising, the 
care and management of which has been 
to him a constant pleasure, and his success 
in these lines has justl_\- gi\-en him cause for 
satisfaction and jiride. 

In politics Mr. Tomlinson has been a 
stanch Republican since the organization of 
the partv. While a man of strong con- 
victions he is not intem]ierate in the expres- 
sion of his own opinions nor intolerant <if 
tlie opinion of others. A man of integrity 
and honorable in his C(Miduct, he has and de- 
serves the respect and esteem of his fellow 

citizens. 

■*—-*■ • 

FR.NXK L. TOMLl X.SOX. 

This well-known and prominent attor- 
ney of Mount Pulaski, is a native of Logan 
countv, his birth having occurred in Mount 
Pulaski townshi)!. I''ebruary jS, iSOo, his 
parents being John ]\1. and .Mary K. Tom- 
linson. He obtained his earl_\- education in 
the pul)lic schools of Mount Pulaski, and 
later was for three years a student at Illinois 
College at Jacksonville, leaving that insti- 
33 



tution in 1S84. He read law with A. G. 
Jones, formerly of Mount I'ulaski, now de- 
ceased, and also with Beach & Hmlnett, of 
Lincoln, Illinois, and after licing examined 
before the suin-eme court at Mount \"ernon, 
Illinois, he was admitted t(_) the liar in the 
fall of 1887. He soon afterward opened an 
oftice in Mount Pulaski, and has since suc- 
cessfully engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession at that place. He is thoroughly 
\-ersed in the law, is a man of deep research 
and careful investigation, and his skill and 
abilit}- are attested by the liberal patronage 
he enjoys. Prominence at the bar comes 
through merit aliine, and the high position 
he has attained attests his superiority. 

In October, 1892, Mr. Tomlinson was 
united in marriage with Miss Leona L- 
String, of Si)ringhel<l, Illinois, a daughter 
of Simon and Elizabeth A. (Beam) String, 
of that city. Politically he is identified 
with the Rei)ublican party. He is a mem- 
lier of Mount Pulaski Lodge, Xo. Hj. .\. F. 
& .\. M., of which he is past master; also 
of .Mount Pulaski Chapter, R. A. M.: and 
Mount Pulaski Commandeiy, K. T., of 
which he is past eminent commander. 



OLIVER T. CAPPS. 

X'o state in the L^nion can bi;:ast of a 
more heroic l)and of pioneers than Illinciis, 
for to this rich portion of the Mississippi 
valley came strong men and courageous 
women, who bra\-ed the hardshi])s and trials 
<if frontier life in order to make homes for 
themselves and aid in founding what has 
become one of the foremost commonwealths 
in all the Union. Among the early resi- 
dents of Logan count}- were the membei"s of 
the Capjis family. Om* subject was onl\' 



628 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a few montlis old when brought by his par- 
ents to the present site of 'Sh. Pulaski, and 
the town stands as a monument to his fa- 
ther. Jabez Capps. Tiie latter was born in 
London, England, in 1796, and when twenty 
years of age he crossed the Atlantic to the 
new world, landing at Boston, [NLassachu- 
setts. He made his way thence to Phila- 
delphia and on across the Allegheny moun- 
tains to Pittsburg, where he took a skitY and 
floated down the Ohio river to Cairo, Illi- 
nois. From that point he made his way to 
St. Louis, Missouri, and thence he remo\-ed 
to Springfield, Illinois, in 1818. There he 
engaged in merchandising until 1836, and in 
the meantime he had married Prudy Ann 
Stafford, who was born on the bank of Lake 
Champlain. in \'ermont, a daughter of Jo- 
seph Staft'ord, a Revolutionary soldier, \\;ho 
fought for se\-en long years for the libert}- 
of the colonies. 

After residing in Springfield for eight- 
een years Jabez Capps brought his family 
to Logan county, purchased a tract of land 
and thereon laid out the town of ^It. 
Pulaski. He started the first general mer- 
cantile store in the place and was the first 
postmaster there, continuing in tliat position 
through different administrations for twenty 
years. He was also recorder of deeds of 
Logan county for a number of years. He 
built and operated the first woolen mill in 
the place, also the first carding machine, the 
latter being run by a tread-wheel. He was. 
indeed, the prime mover in every enterprise 
calculated to upbuild the community, and 
the town stands still as a mmiument to his 
untiring labor and public spirit. All this 
time he continued merchandising until his 
Inisiness grew to l.)e the largest in this por- 
tion of Illinois, liis sales amounting to 
eightv thousand dollars annually. He 
Ixi'Ught his goods of eastern parties on credit, 



ijeing alhjwed a years time to make pay- 
ment. He sold his goods on credit, but the 
latter plan ultimateK" pn \ed his ruin. Kind 
hearted to a fault, he did nut make 
collections, and finallv lost heax'ilv in 
this wa_\-. At one time he was a 
\-er_\- large land holder, owning thou- 
sands of acres of the choicest land 
in Logan county, including three thousand 
acres in one body, one tract adjoining Mt. 
Pulaski containing fourteen hundred acres, 
while in adjoining counties his landed pos- 
sessions were also very extensive. He had 
receixed only a common school education in- 
Eng-Jand. but he possessed rare business 
ability and sound judgment, and thus he 
acrpured a handsome fortune. He died in 
Alt. Pulaski in 1896, lacking only three 
months of being one hundred }'ears old. 
Politically he was an old-line Whig in the 
early days and a stanch opponent of slavery, 
and when the Repulilican partv was formed 
to prevent the further extension of slavery 
he j (lined its ranks and continued one of its 
loyal defenders until his death. 

Mr. Capps was twice married. He first 
wedded Prudy A. Staft'ord, in 1S27. and 
the\' became the parents of four children : 
Charles S., who was an extensive nursery- 
man here for many years, and Thomas, 
both deceased ; Ebenezer, of \\'ichita. Kan- 
sas ; and Oliver, of this review. In 1836 
]\rr. Capps was again married, his second 
union being with Aliss Betsy Baker, a na- 
ti\-e of Kentucky, who accompanied her par- 
ents to Illinois, making the entire journey 
I in horseback and locating in Rochester, this 
state. By this marriage there were ten chil- 
dren, all of whom reached mature years: 
Jolui. now deceased: Prudy. wife of S. L. 
Biedler; ]\Iary, deceased wife of ]M. McXat- 
ten ; \\'illiam; Benjamin; Jaljez. deceased; 
Edwanl, a composer of music in Xew York 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



629 



■city: Harry: J^Iaud, now Mrs. Willis Staf- 
ford : and Frank, who died in childhood. 
The mother died in 187O. 

In the village of Mt. Tnlaski Oliver 
Capps was reared and educated, attending 
the public schools. He remained on the 
home farm until twenty years of age, when 
he began assisting his father in the store. 
He was married in 1856. and for nearly 
twenty years thereafter continued to reside 
in ^h. Pulaski. In 1876 he removed ti-> 
Wellington. Kansas, where he established a 
general store, which he successfully con- 
ducted for ten years, but eventually he sold 
out and went to California, where he resided 
five \ears, being engaged in the real estate 
business. On the expiration of that period 
he returned to his old home in Mt. Pulaski, 
where he has since lived practically retired, 
his attention being given to no active busi- 
ness affairs, save the management of his 
property. 

On the 13th of April, 1856, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Capps and iliss Mary Eliza 
Bush, of Peoria. Illinois, who was born in 
^It. X'ernon. Ohio, February 10. 1837. 
Her father, George Bush, \\ht) was an ex- 
tensive farmer, died there, and later her 
mother came to Pekin, Illinois, where she 
remained until her death, in 1840. Mr. and 
ilrs. Capps have four children, of whom 
Arthur Thomas is the eldest. Anna is now 
the widow of Dr. \\'. S. Mendenhall, wh<-. 
was a wealthy and prominent physician. Of 
the five children born to them the two still 
living are Scott, who is now attending the 
^Morgan Park preparatory school with the 
intention of entering Rush Medical College : 
and Paul, who lives with his grandparents. 
^Minnie J., the second daughter of our sub- 
ject, is now deceased. She was the wife of 
Mr. Guthrie, a prominent lawyer of Grand 
Forks, North Dakota. Herbert X., resid- 



ing in Mt. Pulaski, is married and has one 
son. Edward L. 

Such, in brief, is the life record of Oli- 
\ er T. Capps, who through many years has 
been actively interested in the welfare of 
]\It. Pulaski and has ever borne his part 
in its progress and improvement. 

He is known to the majority of the old 
settlers as well as to the more recent arrivals, 
lielonging to one of the honored pioneer 
families of the county. His life, honorable 
and upright, has gained him uniform re- 
spect, and no history of Logan county would 
be complete without the record of his life. 



WILLIAM \\'. SIMPSON. 

Among those whose labors have en- 
abled them to reach the goal of prosperity, 
and, therefore, now live in retirement after 
rears of active association with the business 
world, is A\'illiam \\'. Simpson. He has a 
wide acquaintance among the people of Em- 
den and Logan county and enjoys the high 
regard of all with whom business or social 
relations have brought him in contact. 

He was born January 14, 1837, while 
his parents, A\'illiam and Annie (Leittle) 
Simpson were at sea. The father was a na- 
tive of England, the mother of Scotland, and 
in the former country they were married, 
yU-. Simpson there occupying responsible 
positions as manager of two woolen mills 
and two cotton factories. His time was 
thus occupied until 1836, when he sailed for 
America. The year following he brought 
his family to the new world and they Ich 
cated in Rhode Island, but only remained 
there a short time, going thence to New- 
bur vport. where the father worked in woolen 
factories. He was employed in a similar 



630 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



capacity in Lowell, Massachusetts, and af- 
ter five years thus passed, im account of fail- 
ing health he renmved westward, in 1843, 
coming at once to Logan county, Illinois, 
where he jMUThased eighty acres of land on 
what is known as the old Delavan Prairie 
in Eminence townshi]). At that time there 
was not a house hetween his home and the 
village of Delavan, fourteen miles distant. 
From the government yir. Simpson entered 
more land and at once hegan making im- 
provements upon the ijropert}'. At the time 
of his arrival he knew nothing of farming. 
but practical experience soon taught him the 
best methods of tilling the soil, and with a 
fair degree of success he carried on agri- 
cultural jjursuits until his death, which oc- 
curred in iSjo. He was a very stanch 
Democrat, and always stood firmly by his 
principles in e\ery regard. His wife died 
in ]88<S. and thus the county lost two of its 
honored ])ioneer settlers. They were tlie 
parents of ten children, of whom six are 
bving, namely : .\nnie, the widow of John 
Davison and a resident of Kansas; Jane, 
widow of JefYerson P>runer and a resident 
of Nebraska; Martha, who is the widow of 
Henry Musick and makes her home in Kan- 
.sas; Hannah, wife of l'. .\. Musick, of 
Woodford county, Illinois; Thomas J., now 
of, Northport, Missouri; and William W. 
Those deceased are Ellen, who married 
James Phillips, Imt both ha\e now passed 
awa\- ; Da\id. who died at sea; Thomas; 
and Mary E. .\tl were educated in the 
common schools except T. j.. who attended 
the college at Em-eka. Illinois. 

After putting aside his text-l)ooks Will- 
iam W. Sim]>sr,n liegan farming in West 
Lincc-ln township, where he rented a farm 
fcr two \'ears, and cluring his residence 
there he married Miss Lenora French, of 
New York, a daughter of John French, of 



that state, 'Sirs. Simpson died August 22, 
1872, They were the parents of two chil- 
dren : Annie M., the deceased wife of 
Charles R. Bowles, of Orvil township ; and 
'i'homas O., who married Annie Jacobs and 
resides in Emden. In 1873 ]\lr. Simpson 
was iigain married, his second uniou lieing 
with Mrs. Jennie ( Skirben ) Sheets, the 
widow of Andrew J. Sheets, of Orvil town- 
ship. Mrs. Simi>son was killed in a run- 
away accident April 22, 1892. leaving two 
children of the second marriage; Walter 
!•"., who married a Miss Sampel and resides 
in luuincnce townshiii; ami Charles II., who 
is living in Emden with his father. 

.\fter his first marriage Sh. Simpson 
followed farming, Ijut when the war broke 
(-ut mid the need of more men was stnmgly 
felt, he enlisted, .\ugust i, 1862, in Com- 
pany E. One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
\'c;lunteer Infantry, under Colonel Latham 
and Captain Beesley. The company took 
part in no engagements of any importance 
and Mr. Sim])son was never injured. He 
was discharged at Pine Blufif, Arkansas, 
lul\- 12, i8;)5. Returning home, he pur- 
chased another fariii six miles east of Em- 
den in Or\il townshi]^, and there he and his 
sons carried on agricultural pursuits until 
if'^Q^^. when he sold his projjerty antl came 
to Emden, purchasing a residence in the 
eastern part of the \illage, where be has 
since lived retired. His enterprise and in- 
dustr\- as ht- tilled his fields and har\-ested 
his crops brought to him a handsome com- 
petence, and he is now one of the substantial 
citizens of tlie communit\-. In his [jolitica! 
\iews he is a Democrat, and takes a deep in- 
terest in the (piestions of the day, keeping 
well informed thereon. For one term he 
served as constable in Orvil township and 
for three terms has been alderman of Em- 
den. For fovn-teen vears he has been school 



I 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



631 



director in liis district, and in these posi- 
tions, as in other offices wlTicli he has filled. 
he has discharged his dnties with marked 
fidelity and promptness. He belongs to the 
Grand Army Post of Armington. Illinois, 
and is a member of the Christian church of 
Emden. in which he has held the office of 
deacon. His life has been upright, his ac- 
tions honorable and sincere, and he is 
widely and faynrably known in the county 
where the greater part of his years haye 
been passed and where he is often spoken of 
as "Uncle Billy" — a term of affectionate re- 
gard. 



JOHX H. LONG. 



Among the successful and prosperous 
farmers of Corwin township. Li^gan count}', 
Illinois, is John H. Long, wdio was born in 
Ohio', I\Iay 8, 1847, and is a son of John 
and Bertha Long, also nati\-es of the Buck- 
eye state. The parents were married in 
Ohio and resided there on a farm until 1853. 
Ayhen they remoyed to Illinois and settled on 
a rented farm near Elkhart, in Corwin 
township. Logan county, .\fter two years 
they bought eighty acres, which the father 
brought to a high state of culti\ation. Being 
a thrifty, energetic man, at the time of his 
death he had accumulated two hundred and 
twenty-fijur acres of land, which he left to 
his heirs. He died Xoyember 3, 1891. at 
the age of eighty-four years, and was buried 
in Eyans cemetery, Corwin township. His 
wife died about 1871. They had a faniil}- 
of nine children, as follows : Sarah, who 
\yas the wife of Albert Barrick, and both 
are now deceased: Har\ey, who married 
2^Iary Lewis, and both are also deceased ; 
Dayid, deceased, who married Delia' Kinney. 
who now resides in Broad well ; Wesley, who 



married Addie Harrison, and resides in 
-Vtlanta. Illinois; Nancy is the widow 
of Philip Richhart. and ivnv resides in 
Lincoln, Illinois; Ellen, deceased wife 
of Charles ^lorris. who resides near 
Keokuk. Iowa: John H.. our subject: An- 
nie, who married ^I. I. Burkett and resides 
near Keokuk. Iowa : and a son. who died in 
infancy. 

John H. Long, o-ur subject, attended the 
district school at Linn (jroye. Corwin town- 
ship, until he was eighteen }ears of age and 
then worked upon the farm, assisting his 
father. He remained at home until he was 
twenty-si.x years old and then entered the 
liyery business at Atlanta, Illinois, where he 
remained four years, after which he re- 
turned to the homestead and for four years 
more managed the farm for his father. At 
this time he married, and for two years op- 
erated a rented farm, but his father needing 
his services, Mr. Long returned to the home- 
stead and lias resided here eyer since. Here 
he has a good farm of two hundred acres of 
fine land on sections 2j and 28. and he 
raises high-grade stock for the market in 
connection with his general farnung. His 
success is the result of his industry and hard 
work, and his prosperity is justly merited. 

On the 2d of Alarch, 1882, at West Lib- 
erty, Ohio, Mr. Long married ^liss Callie 
F. Van Meter, a daughter of John R. and 
Sarah (Powell) \'an Meter, both of whom 
were natives of Ohio. Her parents were 
married in Ohio and resided there until 
their deaths, the father l)eing engaged in 
farming. Mrs. Long was one of a family 
of si.x children, as follows: Jennie, who is 
single and resides with Mr. Long: Henry, 
who married Anna .Sieger and resides in 
( )hio : Callie F.. who was born in Ohio and 
is now Mrs. Long: John, who married Effie 
Stout, now deceased, and resides in Ohio; 



632 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Maggie, wlio married Charles Scott and re- 
sides in West Liberty, Ohio; and a son. who 
died in cliildhood. ;\ir. and Mrs. Long 
have two interesting chihh'en, namely : 
Jessie V. and Virgil C. 

In politics Mr. Long is a Repnblican, 
<'md has served his party as road commis- 
sioner for a nnmher of years and also as 
sch(X)l director, lie is a member of ^lyrtle 
Lodge. No. 470, 1. O. (). F., of :Middle- 
town. of which he is past grand. He has 
also served as trnstee of the lodge, and has 
represented it in the grand lodge of the state. 
Both he and his wife Imld membership in 
the Methodist T-'.piscopal church of Spring 
Bank, and he is one of the stewards in the 
same. They are highly respected in their 
localitv. and in their pleasant home are sur- 
rounded 1)\- an interesting family and many 
/riends. 



RE\\ THO^I.\S DANIEL KENNEnV. 

Rev. Eather Kennedy, pastor nf St. Pat- 
rick's church at l-"lkhart. was horn in New 
York, on the 16th cf h'ebruary, 1870, and 
is a son of John !'>. and Mary Rose ( Een- 
lon) Kennedy, bi:th natives of County Car- 
low, Ireland, the fnrnier hirn in 1830, the 
latter in 184-I. His father came to .\mer- 
ica in 1852 and settled in Cenexa, New 
York, and four years later his muther 
crossed the Atlantic with her parents and 
located in Auljurn, New ^'ork. The}' were 
married at Gene\a. l\Ir. Kennedv died in 
Rochester, that state, April 14, 1898, but his 
, wife is still li\ing and continues to reside 
in that city. They had a family of eleven 
children, eight of whcim are still living. 

During liis bovlKind Eather Kennedv at- 
tended the public schools of Waterloo, New 
York ; later was a student at the Sisters pa- 



rochial school in Auburn, New York; and 
next entered St. Charles Seminary at Elli- 
cott City, Maryland, where he was a student 
in 1885-6. He later attended St. Andrew's 
Seminary at Rochester, New York, from 
]S86 to 1890, and St. Joseph's Provential 
Seminary at Troy, New York, from 1890 
to 1892, taking a course in philosophy and 
theology. In the latter year he entered St. 
Marv's I'nixersity at Baltimore. Maryland, 
completing his sacred theological anil scrip- 
ture course in 1894. 

On the 2 1 St of June, 1894, Father Ken- 
ne<ly \\as ordained a priest by Cardinal 
(iiblK>ns at Baltimore, and was then ap- 
])ointed secretary to Bishop Spalding at St. 
Mary's Cathedral in Peoria, Illinois, where 
he remained three months. He was ap- 
pointed hr,st assistant at Holy Trinity 
church, Bloomington, on the ist of Septem- 
ber, 1894, but October i, 1895, was recalled 
bv Bishop .S])alding as secretary to him and 
acting rector of the cathedral at Peoria, 
which positions he filled until July, 1897, 
when he was transferred to Lincoln as act- 
ing rectcvr of .St. Patrick's church. On the 
1st of July, 1898, he was appointed rector of 
St. Patrick's church at Elkhart, St. Thomas 
Aijuinas church at Mt. Pulaski and St. 
Mary's church at Atlanta, and is still in 
charge of these three congregations. 

St. Patrick's church of Elkhart was es- 
tablished in 1856. Twice a year the Rev. 
Tiiomas Kennedy, of the Chicago^ diocese, 
made \isits here and said mass through the- 
central portion of the state. In 1857 the 
Kev. Eather Alaher, of Bloomington, came 
once in two months and said mass in John 
Bushel's house, which stood near where the 
Chicago &- Alton Railroad dq>ot is 
now li:cated. In i860 he Ijegan say- 
ing mass and administering the sac- 
raments in Mr. Rigney's house, which 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



635 



stood then in Cillette's (jfove and af- 
terward was moved. In i<S')3 Rew Father 
Alartin. who was tlien pastor at Lincohi, 
l^uilt the tirst permanent .structure as 
a church at Elkhart. The new churcli was 
completed and dedicated the following year, 
and in 1S65 Rev. Father Hernial,!, who was 
then stationed at Linculn, took charge. He 
was succeeded liv Father llurke, of the same 
place, who in turn was succeeded by Father 
Dalton. and his successors were Father Hod- 
nett and Father Costa. Bishop Si)alding 
then a]jp()inted Re\-. C. Al. Rimmels as the 
th-st rector in 1878, and he was succeeded 
by Rev. Thomas Dunne in 1885, whose suc- 
cessor was Re\-. J. A. Fanning, D. D. The 
p.restnt rector. Rev. Thomas Daniel Ken- 
Med\'. was ne.xt a])pointed. in 1898. 



ROBERT G. GF^IBFRTTXG. 

Robert G. Gemberling, a prominent 
farmer and owner of one of the finest farms 
in Orvil township, was born on section 12. 
that township, June 22. 1865. His par- 
ents were Frederick and Mary .\. ( Sten- 
inger) Gemlierling. both nati\es of Penn- 
sylvania, who came west at an earh- date and 
settled on a farm near I'ekin. Tazewell 
county. Illinois, where the\- li\ed several 
years. They then removed to a farm near 
Delavan, that county, and a few \ears later 
.settled on section 12, Or\-il townshi]), Logan 
county, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing until the death of his wife, which occur- 
red ^lay 2, 1890, when he removed to Lin- 
coln, and is still residing there, retired from 
active business. Vox his second wife he 
married Mrs. Eliza Kelly. 

Si.x children were born of the first mar- 
riage, namely: David II., who married 



Sarah Bowles and resides on a farm on sec- 
t^ju 12, Or\-il township; Cyrus, who is en- 
gaged in the lumber business in the village 
of Emden; James Albert, w'ho married Iza 
Ouisenberr\- and follows farming in Boyn- 
ton township, Tazewell county: Jennie. \vh<3 
married T. Alexander, a farmer near Bloom- 
in'gton. Illinois: Robert G.. our suliject : and 
Sclunler C. who married Mav Xine and 
resides on a farm in Orvil township. There 
are no children bv the father's second mar- 
riage. 

( )ur subject recci\'ed a good education 
in the jniblic schools of this countv. and had 
the further adxantage of a course at the uni- 
\-ersitv in Lincoln, .\fter completing his 
education he took a trip through the west. 
where he spent one year, and on his return 
settled on a farm on section 12, Orvil town- 
ship. While living there be was united in 
marriage with Miss Marguerite ^IcCormick, 
;i daughter of James and Eliza (McGowan) 
McCormick. who were born in the east but 
at an earl_\- ilay settled in Orvil township, 
this countv. Her father is now deceased, 
but her mother is still living and makes her 
home in Lincoln. ]\Ir. and ^Irs. Gember- 
ling are the parents of three chililren, name- 
Iv: Louella. Robert Clyde, and Eva Claire. 

.Mr. ( iemljerling continued to^ reside on 
section 12. 0\\\\ township, until 1894, when 
lie remo\-ed to what is known as the oM Mar- 
tin farm, on section 35, the same township, 
liaving ])urchased the same, which he made 
his home until 1901, when he bought a part 
of the old ]\lcCormick homestead on section 
9. Orvil township, wliicb is recognized as 
one of the best farms in the township, if not 
in the entire county. He now owns two 
luuidred acres, rmd is successfull}- engaged 
in agricultural ])ursuits. As an aucti(.ineer 
his services are in constant demand, and be 
devotes considerable attentitju tO' that busi- 



634 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



iiess (luring the winter nmnths. In pi.ilitics 
i\[r. (iembeiiing is a stalwart Reiiublican. 
Both he and his excellent wife are earnest 
members of the Bethel Christian church of 
Or\il township, and he is one of the leading 
farmers of his community, \ery popular 
with all classes. 



^^'1LLIAM E. ]\kCLELLAXl), M. D. 

Dr. \\'illiam E. McClelland, a prominent 
and successful physician and surgeon of 
Beason, Illinois, was born March 17, 1853, 
in Franklin county, Ohio, and is a son of 
Joseph E. and Alargery ( Wheeler) ]\IcClel- 
land, in whose family were six children. 
The father was also a native of the Buckeye 
state, and continued to make his home there 
until coming to .Illinois, in 1855. The 
mother is a native of Maryland and a daugh- 
ter of Cieorge \\'heeler. Both parents are 
now living with the Dtjctor in Beason, 
where 'they expect to spend their declining 
years. 

Reared in this state. Dr. McClelland at- 
tended school in Decatur, and also spent one 
year at the Westtield College. Deciding to 
enter the medical profession, he attended 
lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, 
where he was graduated in 1878 with the 
degree of M. D. Immediately after his 
graduation he located in Midland City, Illi- 
nois, where he engaged in the joractice of 
his profession for nine years, and in 1887 
came to Beason. Logan county, where he 
remained e\-er since. Here he has built u]) 
a large and lucrative practice, and bears an 
en\-ial)le re])utation as a straightfiirward 
and conscientious physician. He took a 
special course at the Post Graduate ^Medical 
School and Hospital, Chicago, in 1901, and 



makes a constant study of his profession. 
He is an hmiored member of the De\\'itt 
Count}- Medical Society and also of the Illi- 
nois State Medical Society. 

Dr. McClelland was married in 1880 to 
Miss Elizabeth Alice Parker, a daughter of 
William C. Parker, of Midland City, and 
they ha\e two children, namely : Clarence 
E., born I\Iay 24, 1883: and Bertha C, born 
August 5, 1886. The family are memijers 
of the Methodist church and are i)eople of 
prominence in the community where they 
reside. The Doctor is also connected with 
Wayne Lodge. Xo. ijj. A. F. &. A. M., 
of \\a}-nesville: Goodbrake Chapter, Xo. 
59, R. A. \l.. of Clinton: and Virginia 
Lodge, Xo, 591, K. P., of Bea.son, Politi- 
cally he atifiliates with the Republican party. 
His pleasant, genial manner makes him 
(|uite popular and is held in the highest re- 
gard bv all who know him. 



GEORGE R. COUXCIL. 

The two hundred and sixty acre farm 
l)elonging tO' George R. Council is one of 
the finest pro])erties in Logan county. Situ- 
ated on section i, Hurlbut township, it bears 
the impress oi the enterprises and progres- 
siveness of its owner, is well cultivated, ad- 
miraliK" fitted with lalmring sa\'ing devices, 
and de\dted to general farming and the 
breeding of high-grade stock for market. 

In scientific farming ]\lr. Council feillows 
a natural inclination, for his ])eo])le ha\e 
for many }ears been successful agriculturists 
and stock-raisers. So far. Illinois seems to 
him the best place to exercise his abilities 
and reap his harvests, a preference largely 
due t(v the fact that he is a son of this great 
I arming slate, having been born in Sanga- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



635 



nidii CDuntw Sepleml)cr 3, iy('3. His fa- 
ther. J(.ihn H. Council, will ever he remem- 
bered as line of the impressive agricultural 
forces of Illinois, and as a man who con- 
ducted his enterprises on a large and telling- 
scale. In the family besides George R., 
were sexeral children, all of whom are use- 
ful men and woman, and a credit to the 
teachings and example of their ambitious 
parents. 

]\Ir. Council was educated in the Fancy 
Creek district schools, and when twenty-one 
years of age attended tlie Springfield Busi- 
ness College at Springfield, Illinois. He then 
assisted his father on the farm, remaining 
at home about a year. In the spring of 
1887 he came to Logan county, and assumed 
the management of a ])ortion of his father's 
farm consisting of six hundred and eighty 
acres, and in Januar}- of the same year 
he marrit'd Mary Carpenter, who was born 
in Sangamon count)-, August 2, 1868. Her 
father, Samuel Carpenter, was born six 
miles north of Springfield, November u, 
1824, and was a sf.m of William Carpenter, 
a nati\-e oi Kentucky, who removed to 
Springfield with his parents at a ver\- early 
day and became (|uitc well known through- 
out the central part of the state. In early 
life \\'illiam Cari)enter read law for a time. 
He eiitered quite a large tract of govern- 
ment land in this state, and held different 
local offices. His wife was Margaret Pence, 
a daughter of Peter Pence, of Pennsylvania. 
Mrs. Council's father grew- ti) manhood in 
Sangamon count\- and receixed the custom- 
ary education of boys at that time, attending 
school in Springfield to some extent. He 
married Miss Martha J. Short, and to them 
■were born si.x children, of whom Mrs. Coun- 
cil is fifth in order of birth. The others are 
Anna, wife of Frank Dunlap. of Sangamon 
■county; William, a resident of Los Angeles, 



Califonfia; Carrie, deceased wife of James 
Reynolds, who lives near Springfield; 
Martha, wife of Charles Wood, sheriff of 
Sangamijn county : and Lena, wife of Abra- 
ham Petefish. who lives north of Springfield. 
The niodier 1 f these children died in 1873, 
and three years later the father married Mrs. 
M. E. H. Johnson, who is now deceased. 
He is still living upon his fine farm of seven 
hundred acres in Sangamon countv, and is 
one of the prominent men of his communitv. 
For many years he has been a consistent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
South. 

To Mr. and ^Irs. Council have been 
born the following children: Fred \\'.. who 
w-as born .\ugust 5. 1888; John Samuel, 
who was born .\pril 13, 1890: Jennie Edna, 
who was l)orn October 9, 1891 ; Percy R., 
who was born ]May 24, 1893: Marshal! C. 
whose birth occurred November 12, 1896: 
George Otis, whose natal day was March 
29. 1898: and Everett M., who was born 
June 2^^. 1900. 

Mr. Cijuncil devotes all of his tin-ie to 
the managei-nent of his farm, and has there- 
fore found little occasion to enter the ranks 
of politics. He is, how-e\er. a stanch Re- 
publican, and \-otes w-ith discretion, and re- 
gard for the qualifications of candidates. 
W'hh his family he attends and supports the 
Methodist Episco|)al church, of which with 
his wife he is a member. 



ISAAC XIAVTOX EWIXG. 

Aniong the many prosi>erous and enter- 
prising farmers of Eminence township is 
the subject of this personal history, who was 
born March (i, 1848, and is a son of Ed- 
ward S. and Delia (Lindsey) Ewing, and 



636 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a grandson of Charles F. and ]\[ary Ewing. 
The grandfather was Ijurn in 1 79O and his 
wife in 1795. Both were natives of Ken- 
tucky, and in 1828 came to Logan county, 
HHnois. settling in what is now Eminence 
township. Charles F. Ewing was a man 
of considerable wealth and influence in the 
county at that time and became the owuer 
of fourteen hundred acres of land, all of 
which was in Eminence township. He 
ser\ed one term in the state legislature, be- 
ing sent there by the Whig ])arty. In dis- 
position he was retiring and after serving 
the people one term, he resigned. He was 
noted for his gener<isity, gixing freely of 
his wealtlT to the poor and needv, and in 
those earl\- davs there were many calls for 
assistance. In 1870 he was called to hif. 
final rest, having lived to see Eminence 
township grow from a wild, inicultivated 
tract of land to one of the most prosperous 
sections of the state of Illinois. 

Edward S. Ewing. the father of the 
gentleman whose name introduces this 
sketch, was a man of unusual ability and 
ranked as one of Eminence township's most 
prrminent and influential citizens. He 
made farming his life occupation and when 
he ])assed awav he was mourned hv not 
<inly his own immediate family, InU by all 
with whom he was acquainted. He died 
in August. 1882. Three times married, his 
family consisted of twelve children, seven 
of whom, are living: }klargaret, Charles 
A., Francis M., James E.. Sherman. Nathan 
and Isaac X.. otu" subject. 

Isaac Newton Ewing was reared in Em- 
inence township, where he received more 
than the ( irdinary education. Soon after 
the completion of his schooling he engaged 
in teaching in Logan county, where he 
gained an enviable reputation as an instruc- 
tor and disciplinarian. He continued in 



this profession for thirteeu Acars, at the end 
of which period he engaged in farming, and 
by good judgment and financiering he has 
become the owner of over one hundred acres 
of land in Eminence township, sixty-four 
acres being (in section 2 and the balance on 
section 3, where he resides with his family. 

On March Jj. 1878, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah Jane Frantz. an 
accom]jlished and distinguished daughter of 
Isaac and Eliza h'rantz, who were natives 
of Indiana, and located in Logan count^■ in 
1858. To our subject and his wife have 
lieen liorn the following children: Delia, 
Smith, Lloyd, Eva, Martha, Isaac, and Clif- 
ton C. Delia, the oldest child, is following 
in the footsteps of his afther, and is now 
engaged in teaching school in Logan county. 

In politics Mr. Ewing is independent 
and casts his \-ote for the candidate whom 
he beliexes liest (|ualified for office. He is- 
noted for his kind and genial manner, and 
is at all times read}' and willing to do all 
in his power to promote the general welfare- 
of bis countv. 



HENRY C. MONTGOMERY. 

Prominent among the citizens of Logan 
county who ha\'e witnessed the mar\'elous 
development of this section of the state in 
the past half century, and who have, by hon- 
est toil and industry, succeeded in acquir- 
ing a handsome conipetence and are now 
able to spend the sunset of life in quiet and 
retirement, is the gentleman whose name 
introduces this sketch. He now makes his 
home in Atlanta. 

yir. Montgomery is a native of the 
Hoosier state, born in Gibson county, Indi- 
ana. October 13, 1825. and is a son of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



637 



Thomas and Catherine (Tee!) Montgom- 
ery, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, 
respectixel}-. This worthy cmiple were 
noted for their hospitahty and generosity. 
Tlie mother was a daughter of \v'iliiam 
Teel. During' his boyhood our subject re- 
cei\-ed only a limited education, such as the 
conimon schools of his immediate county 
afforded at that early day. He remained on 
the home farm until he liad attained his 
majority, and early became thoroughly fa- 
miliar with all (jf the duties which fall to 
the lot of the agriculturist. In 1847 '^^ 
came tn Logan county, Illinois, making the 
journey from his native county on horse- 
back. The country at that time was ex- 
tremely rough and the principal highways 
were the Indian trails. 

On his arri\-al in this county, Mr. Mout- 
gomery took up his residence with Harvey 
Turner, under whose roof he remained three 
years. In 1830 he purchased a farm, con- 
sisting (if one hundred and sixt}- acres 
of land, which is now the old home- 
stead. As time passed and he pros- 
])ered in his farming operations, he 
kept adding to his landed possessions until 
now he has nine hundred and thirt\'-three 
acres of valuable land in Atlanta tmvnshii), 
l^ogan county, and in McLean county. He 
is acknowledged to be one of the most suc- 
cessful and ])ros])eroiis agriculturists of his 
county. He is now practically li\ing a re- 
tired life in Atlanta and owns one of the 
finest residences of the place, it Iseing ecpu'p- 
petl with all modern conveniences. 

In Fei^ruary, 1854, Mr. Montgomery 
was united in marriage with Miss Celinda 
Andrews, whose jiarents were from Rhode 
Island and Xew "S'ork, respectively. Two 
children blessed this union, Imt \\illiam H.. 
the younger, died at the age of three months 
and thirteen davs. Harvev T. is to-dav one 



of the principal traveling salesmen connect- 
ed with one of the largest business houses 
of Bloomington, and receives a salar\- of 
fifteen hundred dollars per year and e.x- 
penses. He has been very successful thus 
far during his business career and undoubt- 
edly a Ijrilliant future awaits him. He owns 
one hundred and sixty acres (jf land under 
culti\'ation. Our subject's first wife died in 
July, 1 85 7. and in October, 1858, he mar- 
ried ^liss Lula Deardsly, of Cenesee county, 
Xew "^'ork, by whom he had five children, 
namely: I'homas E. : Harriet AI. : ^linnie 
B. : Judson, who is now looking after his 
father's f;u'ming interests; and Isaac )., de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Montgomery is a member of the 
Free Will Bajjtist church, and gives it his 
financial support. In politics he is an ardent 
Republican, but has never sought publicity 
in an official ca])acity. As a citizen of the 
community in which he has so long ]i\-ed 
and been so acti\-e, he is highly respected 
and enjoys the confidence of his neighbors 
and many friends, by whom he is regarded 
as a man of excellent business judgmer.t. 
In all transactions his word is considered 
as good as his bond, and he well merits tiie 
high regard in which he is uniformh' held. 



PETER OBCAMP. 

This well known resident of Lincoln i.> 
one of the leading German-born citizens ci 
Lf)gan county, and in his successful Inisiness 
career he has shown the characteristic thrift 
and enterprise of his race. Beginning with 
no capital except that acquired by his own 
industrw he has built u]) a large trade as 
a wholesale and retail dealer in liquors, and 
is also a successful coal ojierator. 



'638 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



A native (if tlie fatlieiiaiid, Mr. Olicamp 
was hiirn in Prussia, (ierniany, }.ta\- 31. 
1833, and is a son of Tilnian and Margaret 
(Finman) Obcamp. who spent their entire 
lives as farming ]>eople in tliat enuntrw 'i'he 
fatlier surxived his wife and attained the ad- 
vanced age of eiglity-six years. Our su1j- 
ject spent his early life in the land of his 
birth, and acquired his educatinn in its pub- 
lic schools. He wi irked nn the home farm 
until he attained his majority and then re- 
sol\-ed to try his fortune on this side of the 
Atlantic. 

In 1853 JMr. Obcamp landed in New 
York, and went direct to Jacksonville, Mor- 
gan county, Illinois, working on a farm in 
that vicinity, for one year. During the 
years 1856 and 1857 he was an attendant 
in the state insane asylum at Jack.sonville. 
and later was coachman in a gentleman's 
famih- in that city. From i86o until i8()5 
he was engaged in the bakery and confec- 
tionery business there, but finally sold out 
in r\Iav, 1 866, and came to Lincoln. Here 
1ie embarked in the wholesale and retail 
liquor Inisiness, which he has successfully 
•carried on up to the present time. He was 
one of the principal organizers of the Citi- 
zens' Cnal and Mining Compau}'. nf Lin- 
■coln, of which he is now treasurer and the 
])rincii)al stnckholder. This enterprise has 
grown t( 1 lie (.me of the most vabialile indus- 
tries (if the citv, and furnishes employment 
to a large number of men. thereliy benefit- 
ing the place materially. 

]\lr. Obcamp was married in 18(14. the 
lady of his choice being Aliss ]\Iary Clatl- 
ley, of Jacksonville, who was also born ui 
Germany and came to the United States 
"when four vears old. They ha\e a fam- 
ily of si.x children, namely: Emma, now 
the wife of Dr. G. Dennis; .\melia : ^\'ill- 
iam, superintendent of the office of the Citi- 



zens' Coal crompanv : Edward, who is als(T 
in the oflice : .Vnnie and Clara, both at h(ime. 
Politically Mr. Olicami) is a stalwart 
Democrat. In business affairs he has stead- 
il_\- prospered, and is now the owner of con- 
sideralile realty, including \aluable [iroperty 
in liusiness houses of Lincoln. On 
his arrixal in Jacksonx'ille he was not only 
without ca])ital, but was two' dtillars in 
debt, and the prosperity that has come to 
him is due entirel}' to his own industry and 
good management, which has enabled him 
to ac(|uire a C(jmfortable com])etence. 



HOX. JOSEPH .\. HORX. 

This well known and prominent attor- 
ney of ]\Ioiuit Pulaski is one of the ablest 
lawyers ])racticing at the Logan county br.r. 
A man of sound judgment, he manages iils 
cases with masterlv skill and tact; is a logi- 
cal reasoner and has a readv coiumand of 
English. ]Mr. Horn was born in Graham, 
.\lamance ctninty. North Carolina, May 13, 
1848. and on the jiaternal side is of Scotch 
descent. The first of the Horn family to 
come to .Vmerica was his great-grandfa- 
ther, who was a nati\-e of Scotland. His 
grandfather. \\'illiam Horn, was born in 
that ])art of Orange countw North Caro- 
lina, which was set off and called Alamance 
county, and he married Jane Faddis, a na- 
tive of England. 

Davifl T. Horn, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born July 5. 18 14, on the farm in 
.Mamance county, N(^rth Carolina, where the 
birth of Joseph A. also occurred. After 
reaching manhood he served for twehe 
years in the state militia as first lieutenant 
in the company commanded by his brother. 
Captain .\. Horn, well known in Mount 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



639- 



Pulaski. In 1861, at the outlireak of the 
Civil war. both were offered commissions 
in the Confederate army by (loxernor Vance, 
of Xorth Carolina. In 1836 David T. Horn 
married ]\Iiss Jane H. Thomas, who was 
laorn in the same localit)-. Nn\-eml)er _>. 1813. 
and was a daughter of William and Millie 
(Stevens) Thomas, and a cousin ui Gen- 
eral Lorenzo Thomas. In March, i860, he 
brought his family to Illinois and located in 
Logan countv, Ijut in lir^hj removed to 
Brockfield, Missouri, where he made his 
home upon a farm until called t<i his I'inal 
rest tliree \ears later. His widciw subse- 
quently returned td this county and died in 
jM(junt Pulaski, in April, 1899. 

Our subject came with his family to 
this state, and also accompanied them mi 
their remo\-al to Missouri. During his 
boylioocl and youth he acquired a good 
practical education. For seven years he was 
connected with railroads in different capac- 
ities, carrying a chain for a surveyor of the 
Kansas Pacific Ra.ilroad and others, in- 
cluding a part of the L^nion I'acific, freim 
Denx-er to Cheyenne, and later, after being- 
admitted to the bar, he was claim attorney 
for one division of the Chicago, Burlington 
& Ouincy Railroad in Missnuri. with ofifice 
at BrcKjkfield, this being his first work in the 
legal field. 

In 1897 Mr. Hiirn commeneced the 
study of law with S. P. Huston, of Brook- 
field. Alissouri, and in June. 1880. was ad- 
mitted to the liar, after which he engaged 
in ])ractice at that place. In 1888 he re- 
turned til Logan c< unity, llliiidis. and has 
since made his iKune in ?\Iount Pulaski, 
where he is successfull_\- engaged in general 
practice. He is also local attorney for both 
lines of the Illinois Central Railroad, lia\-- 
ing been apjiointed to that position in Janu- 
ary, 1 90 1. He had previously served as 



attorney for the Peoria, Decatur & E\'ans- 
ville Railroad for seven years, until tiiat 
line was abscrbed bv the Illinui-; Central. 

Air. Horn was married in 1891 t(j ]\Irs. 
Sarah E. Starnes. who was born in Ma- 
CMiiilj. Illinois, in 1844. and is a daughter 
of George W. Starnes and a widow of 
(jeorge Starnes. Fraternally Mv. Horn is 
a member of the Knights of PytHias O'f 
Mount Pulaski, and a member of the ad- 
visory b(.iard of the Knights of Equity of 
St. Louis. In his political views he is an 
ardent Republican, and has taken a very ac- 
ti\e and inliuential part in political aff'airs. 
In 1896 he was elected to the thirty-second 
general assembly from the thirty-second dis- 
trict, comprising Logan, Menard, Cass and 
Mason counties, and most creditaljly and 
satisfactorily did he fill that position. He 
was a memljer of sexxral important com- 
mittees, including those oil judicial affairs, 
banking and charities. He was also a 
member 1 if the extra session called in 
1,897-8. He served as city attorney of 
Mount I'ulaski for six years, from j88i, 
and later for twO' years. He is thoroughly 
versed in the law, is a man of deep research 
and careful investigation, and his skill and 
al)ilit\- ha\e won him a lucrati\e practice. 



SQUIRE MYERS. 

Among the farmers wlm lia\e found in 
Illinois a field of great opportunity ma_\- be 
mentioned Sciuire Myers, who' is a so.uth- 
erner by birth, coming from Kentuckv, 
where he was liorn in 1855. Plis father, 
John Myers, was also a nati\'e of the Blue 
Grass state, where for many years he car- 
ried on successful farming pursuits, and 
also was an extensive stock-raiser. About 



640 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



]86o he cliaiiijetl liis lucatinii In Richlam.l 
C('Uin\-. JlliiKiis, where he cmitinutil to farm 
with good results. He married juha A. Ev- 
ans, and of the children born of this union, 
[i\'e are n<jw li\ing, S(|uire Alyers being 
second oldest. 

Mr. Alyers was educated in the public 
scliools of the southern part of the state, 
and in his youth learned farming from his 
father. In 1874 he shifted his held of effort 
to Logan county, where for some time he 
worked l)y the month, before engaging in- 
dependentl}- in farming. Mrs. ]\Iyers was. 
before her marriage, Lizzie Randolph, and 
is the mother of one child, now fifteen \ ears 
of age. 



ABEL LARLSOX. 



Among the successful farmers and high- 
ly resjjected citizens of Atlanta townshii) is 
numljered Abel Larison. He is of Dutch 
descent,' his paternal grandfather, James 
Larison, haxing been a nati\'e of Holland. 
On reaching manhood he came to the 
United States in the year 1800, and settled 
in .\ew York, where he engaged in farming 
for a great many years. He afterward re- 
mo\-efl to Ohio, where he resumed farming, 
and matle his home there until his <leath, 
\vhich occurred in June, i8j8, having 
reached the ad\-anced age of ninety-se\en 
years. The family is noted for longevit}-. 
He had ten children, of whom Aliel Larison, 
the father of oiu' subject, was the youngest. 
He was born in [Maryland and folk^wed in 
the footsteps of his father, making farming 
his life work. He died in Galena, Illinois, 
on the 1st of April, 1845, ^.nd his wife, who 
bore the maiden name of Rachel Caton. 
passed away. They reared a family of ten 
children, fixe sons and five daughters. 



.\l)el Larison, Jr., whose name intro- 
duces this sketch, was l)orn in. Morgan coun- 
ty, Oliio, .\pril 15, 1822, and grew to man- 
hood upon a farm, his education l)eing some- 
\\ hat neglected for want of time to attend 
tlie poor country schools of those days as he 
had to assist in the labors of the farm. He 
conseqnenth' attended school only six 
months. At tlie age of twentv years he 
came to Logan ccjunty, Illinois, and settled 
in Atlanta township. Being in limited cir- 
cumstances he was onl}- able to jnnxhase a 
small tract of land at first, ])ut by hard work, 
as well as the strictest econoni}-, he succeeded 
in accumulating considerable property. He 
has given all of his cliildren a good start in 
life and still retains the old homestead, con- 
sisting of one hundred and thirty acres of 
choice land on section 31, Atlanta town- 
ship. 

.\s a companion and helpmate on life's 
journey Mr. Larison chose Miss Julia A. 
Stephens, a daughter of Adam Stephens, 
who was a farmer by occupation. They be- 
came the parents of nine children, whose 
names and dates of birth are as follows : 
Mary Jane, June 24, 1847; Leander, Sep-' 
teml)er 6, 1843 • James A., October 1 1, 1852 ; 
John E., February 13, 1854: b'ranlc M., 
October 7, 1857; Lina, January 19, 1&.51; 
Thomas J., August 24, i860; Abel, Sep- 
tember 12, 1862; Anna, March 17, 1865, 
and .\dam S., August 12, 1867; Leander 
died in i8f)fi. but the others are still living. 
Tliey are all married with the exception of 
Thomas, who resides in Indianapolis, Indi- 
ana, and follows the trade of a machinist, 
ha\'ing been connected with that industry 
for se\-eral years. The mother of these 
children was born July 14, 1828, and died 
Septemljer 17, 1888. 

.Mtliough Mr. Larison is now in his 
eightieth year, he does the work of an or- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



641 



dinary man, being quite roljust and acti\e. 
and lie is cinisidered one uf tiie brightesi 
and most energetic farmers of his commun- 
ity. He is a member of the Alasonic frater- 
nity, and a stanch supporter of the Repub- 
lican party. Kind and generous by nattu'e. 
he makes many friends, and commands the 
respect and esteem of all who know him. 
He is not a member of any church, but 
financially assists in their support when 
called upon. He and his family are noted 
for their ability as \-iolinists, possessing con- 
siderable talent along that line. At inter- 
vals he has spent the winter months in 
Colorado o.n hunting expeditions for eight 
or ten years, and has many trophies of the 
chase, including the skin of the only elk he 
ever drew bead on, together with several 
.skins and heads of deer that he has shot. 
He has been a noted marksman and has 
taken great delight in Inmting. 



JAMES A. GEMBERLIXG. 

James A. Gemberling. Ijetter known as 
"Al," residing on a farm in Boynton town- 
ship, Tazewell count}-, Illinois, one-half 
mile from the Logan c<junty line, comes of 
a family which settled here in the early days 
of this count\- and has manv representatives 
throughout this locality. 

Our subject is a nati\e of Union county, 
Pennsylvania, born July 14, 1854. and is 
a son of Frederick and Mary .\nn ( Sten- 
inger) Gemberling, also natives of that 
state, who came west in 1855 and first set- 
tled in Tazewell county, Illinois, whence 
they removed to Orvil township, this coun- 
ty. The father now resides in Lincoln, 
where he is living a retired life. He mar- 
ried for his second wife Mrs. Eliza Kellv. 



They lia\e a pleasant home in Lincoln, 
where Ijoth are highlv respected. There 
were eight children born to the first mar- 
riage of Frederick Gemberling, namely : 
David H., who married Miss Sarah Bowles, 
and now resides on a farm on section 12, 
( )r\il township ; Cyrus, who is engaged in 
the lumljer business in the village of Emden ; 
James Albert, who married ]Miss Isa Jane 
Ouisenberry, and is a fanner of Boynton 
township, Tazewell county ; Jeniiie, \vho 
married T. Alexander, and li\es neai 
Bloomington : Robert C, a sketch of whom 
will be found (m another page of this work; 
Schuyler C. w'.io married May Xine. and 
resides on a farm in Orvil township : and 
Frances and Franklin, both of whom died 
}oung. All of these children received good 
educations in the common schools of Orvil 
township, and in Tazewell county. 

Our subject remained at home attend- 
ing school and assisting his father until his 
marriage, which occurred on Februar\- 10, 
1872, Isa J. Ouisen.berr\- becoming his wife. 
She was Ijorn in Orvil tow-nshp and is the 
daughter of Thomas H. Ouisenberr)-, an 
earl}- settler of Logan c<junty, now de- 
ceased. Se\-en children were born to ]\Ir. 
and Mrs. Gemljerling, namely : Frank, de- 
ceased; Cora, wife of Charles Clark, of Em- 
inence township, this county: Etta, wife of 
Charles Slmrt, a farmer of Biiynton town- 
ship, Tazewell county; Frederick: Leslie; 
Wilbur and Edgar, all residing at home. 

After marriage Mr. Gemberling settled 
on a farm near the Bethel Church in Or\-il 
township, but subsequently remo\-ed to sev- 
eral farms in the same township. li\'ing a 
few- years on each. In }.Iarch, 1886, he 
lixated on his present farm in Boynton 
township, Tazewell county, Illinois, wliere 
he now owns one hunclerd and sixty acres 
of excellent land, on which is a substantial 



642 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



house, a good Ijani ami uutljuiklings. In 
addition to tliis he also owns another forty 
in Tazewell county, north oi his home ; one 
hundred and sixt_\- acres in Eminence town- 
ship, Logan -county, and two hundred and 
forty acres in JIamilton county, Nebraska. 
All this land is well iniprMved and under 
cultivation. 

In politics .Mr. (ieniherling is a Republi- 
can and both he and his wife are members 
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of 
Providence, Illinois. Since living on his 
present farm, nur subject has Ijeen very suc- 
cessful, and SO' popular is he that no work 
of Logan county would be complete with- 
out a record of his life. 



ARTHUR OLTSEXBERRV. 

For manv ^■ears Arthur (Juisenberry 
was actively identified w ith the agricultural 
interests of Logan county, but is now prac- 
ticallv living a retireil life in Lincoln, his 
home being at 212 Hudsdu street. He was 
born upon a farm in Christian county. 
Kentucky. August 29. if^^^5. and is a son of 
Edward Sanford ;md J.ucy ( Catoiu" j 
(3uisenberry, both of win mi were natives of 
Virginia, the former burn in^ 1786. the 
latter in 1799. On the p;iternal side his 
ancestors were of Scutch- Irish extraction, 
and were among the early settlers of 
the Old Dominion. The father of nur 
subject was twice married, his first wite 
being ]Miss Xancy Thurlkeld, of Virginia, 
whO' bore him, fourteen children. In 183 1 
or 1S32 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Lucv Catour. wlmse family rem<i\'ed 
to Kentucky in 181 3. By the second union 
there were five children, making nineteen 
in all, nine sons and ten daughters, all of 
whom lived to be grown men and women. 



and all married and reared families w ith the 
exception of three. The father was an ex- 
tensive lantl and slave owner in the south, 
l)Ut from conscientious scruples he set all 
his sla\es free, and on account iif the bad 
effects of shu'crx- he removed with his fam- 
ily to Illinois in 1835. Though he lost most 
of his ]iropertv in this way. he afterward 
met with success, and ga\e to each of his 
nineteen children a good farm. He became 
a very strong aljolitionist, and he and his 
nine sons were among the first to join the 
Jvcpulilican part}-, all \-oting for John C. Fre- 
mont in 1856. On first coming to Illinois 
he located in Tazewell county, where he re- 
mained until 1849, and then removed to 
Jiminence townshi]). Logan county, where 
he continued to make his home throughout 
life. He was a soldier in the war of 181 2. 
and a farmer l)y occuiiation. A man of 
good, practical common sense, he prospered 
in business affairs and was held in the high- 
est esteem for his many sterling finalities. 
He died in 1804, in his se\enty-eighth }ear, 
and the nnither of our subject departed this 
life in 1882, at the age of eighty-three. 

Arthur Ouisenljerry passed his boyhood 
and youth u])(iu the iK.ime farm, and re- 
ceived a gootl common school education. 
])ursuing his studies during the winter 
months in a primiti\e log school house un- 
til sex'enieen }'ears of age, and aiding in 
the work of the farm through the summer 
season. On the i8th of February. 1858. 
he married Miss Polly Burt, of Tazewell 
county, whom be had kiKjwn since she was 
a little girl, and to them were born four 
children, namely: Laura B.. now the wife 
of John ]-".. Richards, of Broadwell town- 
ship, this countx' : George H.. who owns 
and successfully operates a fine farm of five 
hundred and fifty-eight acres of land in Lo- 
gan count\- : I'auline. who died at the age 



1 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



643 



of five years ; and Arthur Clifford, who' was 
graduated from the Uni\ersity uf lUinuis 
in 1900, and now holds a position in the 
Lincoln National Bank. . 

After his marriage ^Ir. Uuisenljerry lo- 
cated on a farm in Eminence townshi]), 
where he owned one hundred and ten acres 
of land, and engaged in general farming 
and the breeding of short-horn cattle with 
marked success for man}' years. j\s time 
passed antl he prosperetl in his farming 
operatiii'ns, he added tn his original tract 
until he had four hundred and fifty acres 
of valuable land under a high state of culti- 
vation. Renting his farm in 1875, he re- 
mo\-ed tO' Lincoln, where he has since made 
his home, his attention being gi\'en to his 
general interests. In 1876 he built a good 
residence at 113 Hudson street, where he 
lived imtil IQOI, when his i)resent beautiful 
home at 2i2 Hudson street was completeil. 
He now has some good city property, and 
is also interested in Texas lands, owning 
at one time twenty sections in that state. 
]\Ir. Ouisenberrv was a director of the old 
Lincoln Loan, Trust & Savings Bank, 
which was afterward merged into the Lin- 
coln National Bank, of wliich he was one 
(if the original stockholders an.d still fills 
that position. He is a conscientious, re- 
liable l)usiness man, and well deserves the 
prosperity that has come to him. lioth lie 
and his estimalile wife are members of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and while 
li\'ing in the countrv he ser\-efl as an elder 
of the church with which lip was connected. 



GUY H. TUTTLE. 



One of the pros])erous and substantial 

citizens of Atlanta is Guy H. Tuttle, whose 

life has been one of financial success. He 
34 



was born in Greene county, Ohio, February 
5, 1831, and is one of a family of five chil- 
dren whose parents were James and Harriet 
(Hatch) Tuttle. The father was also a 
nati\e of that state, born in Athens, in 
1806. and was a man of exceptional abil- 
it}-, having mastered several trades. In 
early life he was interested in the manufac- 
ture of brick and engaged in the distilling 
business, but later devoted his entire time 
to agricultural pursuits and became very 
prosperous. He lived to the advanced age 
of ninet}--three, and was still well preserved 
at the time oi his tleath, which occurred 
April 14, 1899. 

Upon the home farm (juy H. Tuttle 
passed the days of his bovhood and vouth, 
and as the schools were rather scarce in his 
community at that time his educational 
pri\ileges were rather meager. Being am- 
bitious to make his own way in the world,, 
he emliarked in the saw-mill business at. 
the age cjf twenty-one, and carried it on 
(piite sucessfully for ten years. Jn 1840 he 
remo\-ed to a farm near .\tlanta, and has 
since followed farming with marked success, 
ha\ing accumulated three huvdred and twen- 
ty acres of the best land to be found in Lo- 
gan cijunty. Pie is also a stockholder and 
director of the Atlanta National Bank, and 
is one of the wealthiest men of his commun- 
ity, as well as one of its most highly es- 
teemed citizens. 

Mr. Tuttle has been twice married, his 
first wile being ]Miss Martha .\. Roach, a 
daughter of X. Roach, and to. them were 
bo-rn five children, namely: \\'illiam O. ; 
Fidelia: Thomas M. : Hattie, wife of .Asa 
Hutchinson: and one who died in infancw 
b'or his second wife he wedded Miss Mar- 
tha j. Harness, a daughter of J. Strong. 
The onl\- child born of this union is now 
Mrs. M. Harlev. Mrs. Tuttle is a devout 



644 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



member of the Christian church and a must 
estimable lady. By his l)alli)t imr su',>jecl 
supports the men and measures of the Re- 
jDublican party, but he never sought or cared 
for the honors or enmluments of political 
office. He is, ho\ve\er, one of the most 
popular and influential men of his commun- 
ity. Though conservati\e, he gives lil)er- 
ally to those in need, and is e\er ready to 
aid any enterprise for the public good. 



IRVING G. FIXFROCK. 

One of the prominent citizens of At- 
lanta is Dr. Irving G. Finfrock, who, ven- 
turing upon a new grciund to relieve the 
sufferings of his fellow-men, has proven 
that each day. we reach a higher plane ot 
wisdom in the relief of jjain. 

He is a son of Michael and Elizabeth 
(Cass) Finfrock, lieing cme of seven chil- 
dren. His father was uriginally from 
Pennsx'lvania, where, as a means of liveli- 
hood, he tilled the soil. In the fall of 1840 
be moved to- DeW'itt county, Illinois, and 
located in W'aynesville, where he had the 
reputation of a successful farmer until his 
death in February, n^oo. The Imme farm 
is still conducted by the wiilnw. 

Our sul)ject was born in Sanganmn 
count}", Illinois, on the ^otli nf .Vugust, 18^3. 
His boyhood days were spent on his father's 
farm in attendance at the neighboring coun- 
try school. L'ptiu leaxing the farm he 
engaged in stock buving to a considerable 
extent for some five years, and being of a 
thrifty nature he accumulated suflicient 
means to emliark in the mercantile business 
in the state of Iowa. Me later entered the 
School of Osteopathv at Des Ab lines, and 
after finishing there took a com-se at the 
National School of Chicago. 



Dr. I'~infrock was united in marriage to 
Miss Jane Marvel, a daughter of James K. 
Marvel, of Wavnesville, Illinois. Five chil- 
dren have Ijrightened their home, being 
kn(jwn as Raup M., Leta L., L. Ruth, B. 
Cass and DeWitt L. 

The Doctor has a lucrative practice in 
DeW'itt county, in fact having so many calls 
upon his professional skill from the adjoin- 
ing count v that he finally opened a branch 
office there. 

Our subject and his wife take an active 
interest in the affairs of their little town, 
being devout members of the Metlmdist 
E])iscopal church. The former, in ix>litics, 
supports the Rei)ul)lican platform; he also 
Ijelongs to the Independent Order of Odd 
J'^llovvs. 

.\ (liictiir, abiive all, is a minister of 
mcrcv ; nn call ever comes in vain: no 
sufl'erer is turned frnm his door vvitlmut 
at least a kind word. 



.\DO. J. H.\RMSE\'. 

.\mong the enterjjrising farmers of Or- 
V il t<i\v iishi]), Logan countv, Illinois, is 
Adii J. Harmsen, residing on section 8, 
where he has made his home since 1870. 
He is ;i native of (iermanv. l)orn ]May H>, 
]86o, and is .a son of Tonjes K. and \\ en- 
delke (Smith) Harmsen, also natives of 
Germanv . wlin came to this country in 1866. 
landing in Xew \'ork. From that city they 
went til I'ekin, Illinois, where they resided 
three vears, while the father pursued his 
trade of blacksmithing. Their ne.xt re- 
moval was to a farm near San Jose, Ma- 
son county, where he engaged in farming. 
They resided on that farm for one year, and 
then located on the farm where the father 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



645 



and (lur subject still live, the good mother 
having died in February, 1897. In the 
family were five children, namely : Klaas. 
deceased: Ado J., our subject: Harim. de- 
ceased: Tonjes. a resident of Orvil town- 
ship: and Herman, deceased. All of the 
children were well educated either in Ger- 
many, Pekin. Illinois, or Logan county, as 
their ages permitted. 

The proi>erty on which our subject aiid 
his father reside was first settled by a man 
by the name of Barnum. and from liim they 
purchased one hundred and si.xty acres. All 
oi the impro\'ements upon the farm ha\c 
been made by them, and the neat, thrifty ap- 
pearance of the place shows conclusively 
that they thoroughly understand their 
chosen calling. They are successfull\- 
carrying on general farming and stock-rais- 
ing. 

Ado J. Harmsen \vas married in Febru- 
ar_\-, 1888, to Annie \\'rage. a nati\-e of Ger- 
many, and a daughter of Jolm W'rage. a 
blacksniith and farmer in Mason cnunty. 
Illinois, now deceased. Six children have 
l)een born ti) them, namely: Tonw John. 
Winnie. Fdward. Ruth and Walter, all at 
Imme. Mr. Harmsen is a Democrat in politics 
but has nexer been an office-seeker and di>es 
not desire to figure in public life. His wife 
is an earnest member of the (ierman Luth- 
eran church of Emden. The family is well 
knnwn and highly resjiected in this Incalitw 



THOMAS BREXXAX. 

The life of Thomas Brennan was such 
£s to ennoble any ct>mmunit\' and ti» ad- 
vance the best moral, intellectual and ma- 
terial interests thereof. For more than 
thirty-five years he was a familiar anil hon- 
ored figiu'e in the business and social life 



of Elkhart, and his death was an irrepara- 
ble loss to the village which had for so 
long regarded him as the personification of 
commercial integrity, true manliness and 
noble citizenship. Owing to an unflinch- 
ing industry and shrewd business ability he 
accumulated large worldly possessions, but 
one of the finest traits of his character was 
embodied in the fact that he never lost track 
of his early struggles, or never passed be- 
yond the ken of the ambitious Irish boy who 
started out in the world without a cent and 
overcame all ol)stacles with the ease of those 
wild feel themselves destined to fill an im- 
portant place in the world. 

From one who has looked well into the 
early traditions of the family it is learned 
that as far liack in history as A. D. 350 
the Brennans were a mighty tribe in Coun- 
ty Carlow. Ireland, and held large posses- 
sions in this and adjoining counties in the 
southern part of the then kingdom of Ire- 
land. Originally Protestants, their motto 
was "Fidelit}-." and after they became Cath- 
olics, the sign upon their banner was "Thou 
Shalt Ciinc|uer." In the same country where 
the shineherd Saxons had been trodden un- 
der heel by the invading Xonnans, Thomas 
Brennan was born March 12, 1833, a son 
of Patrick antl Ann ( Burns) Brennan, also 
natives of County Carlo. In the same fam- 
ily Ijeside Thomas \vas : Bridget, who. with 
her husband. Patrick Welsh, is deceased, 
had eight children, and lived in Illinois; 
Sarah, first the wife of John White, and af- 
ter his tlecease the wife of John Doyle, lived 
at Iresdale. Illinois, and has one child bv her 
first, and two children l)y her second mar- 
riage: ^Iar\-, now deceased, was the wife 
if James Ryan, of Lincoln. Illinois, and 
was the mother of ten children: Matthew, 
\\hi> married Anna Shammesy. has nine 
children, and lives in .\lliance, Xebraska. 



646 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



W'lien seventeen years of age ^Nlr. Bren- 
nan landed in New York, and was em- 
ployed by a firm in the city tor two years 
at five dollars a month, receix'ing also the 
privilege of attending school for one month 
each winter, for during the cold weather, 
when work was scarce, he received only his 
board for his services. After a similar ex- 
perience in X'ermont, he remo\'ed to Mich- 
igan and was employed by the M. S. E. 
Railroad for a time, his lines being next 
cast in Springfield, Illinois, which he reached 
March 4, 1854. In the western town he 
was \-ariously employed, his (iccupations in 
eluding li\'eryman, hotel butler, drayman, 
mail carrier, and bus dri\er, and l)y snnie 
strange and well remeinl)ered coincident 
he ser\-ed the illustrious Abraham Linc(j'ln. 
After a\ time he turned his attention to 
farming near \\'illiams\-ille, and liy impro\- 
in.g opjxirtunities unseen ])\- dthtrs managed 
to accumulate a little monev, principallv b\' 
planting twentv-fi\'e acres of corn with a 
hoe, the harvest of which yielded him se\- 
cnt_\" cents a 1)usbel. He also protitabh' ran 
a threshing machine in the neighborhood, 
and in fact turned his capable hand in many 
directions. After locating in I'"Jkhart he led 
a purely commercial existence, and. In' rea- 
son of the perse\-erance which luul brouglit 
much to the penniless emigrant \n:\ in \e\\ 
'^'ork, he succeeded as all such men do. 

On September 29, i8fii, Mr. Brennan 
married, in Elkhart, ]\Iary Ka\anaugh, the 
ceremony lieing ]5erformed b}- the I\e\-. Fa- 
ther Martin, at the residence of O. ^IcCabc. 
Mrs. Brennan was born in C'ount\- C'arlow. 
Ireland. March 17, 1845, ''"'' ^^^^^ the 
daughter of James and Catherine ( Mor- 
risey) Ka\'anaugh, also nati\es of that coun- 
ty. The parents were married in Ireland 
and came to .America in 1850, h\ing in Ab 
])an\-. New ^'ork, for sex'en vears. The\' 



then came to Illinois and settled in what i.s. 
now Elkhart, biU which was then but a 
watering tank for the railroad. At the time 
they bought all necessities at Springfield,^ 
and about 1870 they remo\ed to Johnson 
county, Xeliraska, where they purchased 
three hundred acres of land, and where the 
father died ,\pril 26, 1889, his wife follow- 
ing him ten ilays later. He was a Democrat 
in politics, a memljer of the Catholic church, 
and respected and esteemed b}- all who knew 
him. To' this couple were born the follow- 
mg children; J<ihn. who married jNIarv 
(jlinn, and lives in Tecumseh, Nebraska; 
Alary, \^■ho was the wife of Mr. Brennan: 
Br}an, whu married Kate Joyce, and lives 
at Crab Orchard, Nebraska ; Catherine, who 
is the wife of Michael Shaunnesy, and li\'es 
at Tecumseh, Nebraska; Bridget, who mar- 
ried Joseph Keegan, and is also a resident 
of Tecumseh, Nebraska: Johamiah, who is 
now Airs. Roljert Taggart, of X'esta, Ne- 
braska : and Charles, who married Tillie 
Taggart, and lives near Crab Orchard, Ne- 
braska. 

T(j Mr. and Mrs. Brennan have Ijeen 
born eleven children, namelv : Patrick, who 
married Amanda Shockev. and lives near 
Elkhart, on a farm; Anna, who is the wife 
of C. F. Tbom])son, has two children, and 
li\es at Eincoln, lllinijis; Matthew, who 
married .\lice Se.xton, has four children, 
and is in the lumber business in Chicag"(.) : 
Sadie, who lives with her mother; Catli ■ 
trine, who is the wife of Thomas Gleason. 
has fi\'C children, and li\-es on a farm near 
EJkhart : James, who died in infanc\' : Thom- 
as, who married Alary Lee, has two chil- 
dren, and li\-es on a farm west of Elkhart. 
John, who married Kate W'ahen, of Spring- 
field, has one child, and lix'es on a farm near 
f\Ikhart : Alarv. who is the \.'ife of Charles 
Lee, and is living near Elkhart ; James C, 



^ 




C. E. NINE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



647 



who died in infancy; Edmund, who lives in 
Elkhart; Charles, who lives at h(iin<^ : aiid 
Brvan. who lives with his mother. 



CHARLES C. REEDER. 

As a contractor and huilder the suhject 
•of this sketch has been actively identified 
■with the develo])ment of Lincoln and the 
surrounding country, and is recognized as 
one of its leading business men. A native 
of the Buckeye state, he was born near Leb- 
anon, Warren county. Ohio, October 2S. 
1848. His parents, Charles C. and .Sarah 
( Hart) Reeder. were liorn, reared and mar- 
ried in the same state, and there the father 
followed farming until i860, when he re- 
moved with his family to Flora, Clay coun- 
ty, Illinois, where he and his wife spent the 
remainder of their li\-es. She was a daugh- 
ter of John Hart, also a native of Ohi(\ 
Our subject is one of a family of seven chil- 
dren, all sons namely: John, a veteran of the 
Civil war; William L. ; Charles C, of this 
review; Oscar, who died in 1893; and Zeph- 
eniah. James and Alfred, all residents of 
Omaha. Nebraska. 

Mr. Reeder was a lad of twelve years 
when the family removed to Flora. Illinois, 
and there grew to manhood, his education 
being mainly acquired in the village schools. 
After leaving school he commenced learn- 
ing the carpenter's trade with a Mr. Parker, 
and after com])Ieting his apprenticeship con- 
tinued with him until coming to Lincoln in 
1871. Here he has successfully engag-ed in 
contracting and building on his own ac- 
'Count, erecting many churches, school 
Tiouses and business blocks, besides private 
residences, not only in Lincoln, but through- 
out Logan count}-, and during the busy sea- 



SI >n he often employs as many as fifteen men. 
He is an e.xcellent workman, and always ct>n- 
scientiously fulfills his part of every con- 
tract. 

In 1872 :\Ir. Reeder married .Miss Ella 
Reed, of Flora. Illinois, a daughter of David 
and Sarah ( Munton 1 Reed. She was born 
in Clermont count}-, Ohio, and came west 
with her parents when young. Mr. and 
Airs. Reeder ha\-e eight children, four sons 
and four daughters, namely: Frank H., a 
farmer; Nettie, wife of George Welxster; 
Ernest, a telegraph operator of Joliet, in the 
employ of the Chicago & .\lton Railroad; 
Elifie. Grace, Charles Forest, Pearly F. and 
lames M., all at home. 



C. E. XIXE. 



The Emden Xews is one of Logan coun- 
t}-'s up-todate and progressive newspapers, 
which, in connection with the job depart- 
ment, is an enterprise (jf which the citizens 
of the thriving village of Emden should be 
prijud. The publication is a seven-column, 
four-page, all-home-print paper, and is issued 
weekl}- on Thursday. Its appearance is al- 
ways clean and bright, and the history and 
currents events of the city, surrounding 
communities and count}- are recorded in in- 
teresting style and good diction. It contains 
correspondence from all surrounding points 
of interest, advertisements that are attrac- 
tive and so well designed that thev are fol- 
lowed by other jiapers of the county, and 
in all, it is one of the brightest, newsiest and 
niost reliable papers in the county outside 
of the county seat. 

The editor ami publisher. C. E. Nine, 
certainly deser\-es an unlimited amount of 
credit for the energy, ambition and judg- 



648 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nient utilized in managing the publication so 
successfully under the hindrances and diffi- 
culties that generally attend the publication 
of a newspaper in a town of five liundred 
inhabitants. It is conceded and must be 
acknowledged that nothing snort o{ hust- 
ling", patience and perse\eranre can bring tn 
the publisher success. The people of the 
town and comnnmity should appreciate the 
enterprise anil encourage it with their sup- 
]XTrt, for no one knows the amount of lalxir, 
tact and expense that is re(|uired to keep 
the institution on a firm basis and in run- 
ning order e.xcept one who has had the act- 
ual experience. 

Charles Etlward Xinc was born one and 
one-half miles northwest of Emden, near 
the northern boundary line of Logan coun- 
ty. April 28. 1878, and was reared at the 
home i)f his iiarents, Mr. and Mrs. Fleming 
Nine, situated on an eighty-acre farm in the 
northeastern ])ortion of Prairie Creek town- 
ship. Early in life the subject of this sketch 
manifested an interest in educational and 
public affairs, and improved everv oppor- 
tunity of obtaining knowledge and experi- 
ence in those avenues with marked success. 
After finishing the course at tlie home coun- 
try school. Pleasant Hill, he took a four 
years' course in the Delavan high school, and 
was graduated therefrom June 17. i8y8, 
with the "banner class,"" consisting of twen- 
ty-three members, being one of the three ex- 
cused from the final examinations. He also 
von highest grade on his graduation ora- 
tion, entitled. "The Evolution of Alind."' 
was selected as one of the eight to partici- 
pate in the graduation program, and in the 
delivery of his oration establislied a record 
as an orator. 

On August 8, 1898, he assumed entire 
control of the Emden Xews, which was es- 
tablished .\ugust I. 1895. From the time he 



entered the business the paper began to im- 
prove, and in a few months had to be con- 
\erted into an all-home-print local paper, in 
order to contain the business, and has con- 
tinued to prf)sper and grow in influence from 
that time forward. The editor has a large 
circle of ac(|uaintances, enjovs society — so 
much so that he has not yet taken unto him- 
self a better half, which fact necessitates the 
omission of his family history in this sketch. 
He is one among the few of his professiin 
who has no bad habits, and who cannot be 
mfluenced to depart from his early training 
and moral ]M-inciples, which is a qualitx- 
needed in more of our public men who mold 
public opinion and exert their influence over 
the communitv. 

The field coveretl by this paper is one of 
the best in the state for its size. Four miles 
southeast is a sister city — Hartsburg, whicii 
is a valuable assistance and support; east is 
the beautiful and rich country surrounding 
Bethel, Eminence and Armington : north 
are Boynton and Delaxan, in Tazewell coun- 
ty, which are \aluable contributaries ; south 
and west are the Prairie Creek, Harness 
and San Jose neighborhoods, all of which 
are interested in the happenings of the entire 
ccmmunity. The grain and stock market 
cannot be e<|ualed anywhere, and is largel}- 
the source of lunden's prosiieritv and 
growth in e\ery avenue. The Xews serxes 
as a valuable medium in heralding the jov- 
ful tidings far and near with freedom and 
generosity. The Xews has published two 
special editions that would have been a 
credit tO' a city of ten times the population. 
The first was a Fo'urth of July edition 
(i89t)). printed in national colors, was 
douljle in size and contained a full list of the 
l)ersonal and real estate property assess- 
ments of Orxil and Prairie Creek town- 
shi]js. besides the other appr<;;)riate patri- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



649 



otic features. Tlie second was a Pan- Amer- 
ican Soiuenir Edition, under date of No- 
vember 14, double in size, printed on l)ook 
])aper in red. wliite and blue, giving a tbrill- 
\ng account of the editor's visit at the Ex- 
position and Xiagara Falls, and also a full 
page account of the assassination of the late 
I^resident McKinlev. his funeral and burial, 
all of which has profuselv illustrated. 
The editor claims the distinction of be- 
ing the voungest editor in the countv, and 
entering the business younger than any edi- 
tor in the state. He is a voung man of 
good character, is a member of the Chris- 
tian church at Emden. has talent in nearly 
every line, and is a willing worker in and 
])romoter of puljlic affairs; and it is fortun- 
ate that the pen. which is '"mightier than the 
sword."" is held antl guided by one who is 
fearless in representing the truth, which is 
and should be the purpose of the press and 
which should lie the motto of e\'er\- editor 
and publisher. 



RICH.ARI) M(3XXETT. 

This well-to-do and highlv respected 
farmer, residing on section 24, Eminence 
township. onl\- a short dist nice fr<im At- 
lanta, was born March 5. 1S44, and is one 
of a famiK- of six cliildren. whose parents 
were Simona and Sarah ( Larimore ) Mon- 
nett. The father was born in France in 
1824. and receixed a good education in the 
sch(;ols of his native land, graduating there- 
from. On coming to the L'nited States he 
stopped for a short time in Xew York and 
then proceeded to Logan county. Illinois, 
l("cating on Kickapno creek, where he fol- 
lowed farming until 1847. On disjjosing oi 
bis farm be engaged in the hotel business 



in Lincoln for a few years, and then re- 
moved to Atlanta, where he continued to- 
make his home until called to his final rest 
in 1892. He left manv friends to mourn his 
loss as well as bis immediate relatives. 

Richard .Monnett lias spent his entire 
life in this co.unty and is indebted to> its com- 
m(']n schools for his educatioiial advantages. 
At the age i^f tweb.e years he left home and 
commenced working as a farm hand by the 
montli and was employed in that capacit\- 
when the C'i\il war br(3ke out. Prompted 
by a sjiirit of patriotism he enlisted in X'?c 
One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Volunteer 
lnfantr\", and ser\-ed with distinction for 
eighteen months, when on account of se- 
vere illness be was honorabh' discharged. 
Since the war Air. Alonnett has been en- 
gaged in farming with excellent results, and 
is to-day the owner i:f a fine farm of two 
bundre<l and f( rty acres, which is well 
tMui])[)ed with exervtbing found upon a 
model farm of the present dav. His resi- 
dence is a handsome structure and up-to- 
date in all is appointments and furnishings. 

On the 3d of March. 1867. Mr. Abmnett 
was iniitcd in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
.'vdams. the daughter of Ephraim Adams, 
an honored pinneer of this county. wlv> 
came here fri^ni Tennessee, and like most 
of the people who came from that state was 
n.oted for Ins hospitalitx' and genial man- 
ner. He died in Logan countv. Januarv 22. 
iSiji. Or.r subject and his wife had four 
children, nameh": Xancv. who was Ijorn in 
1869 'I't' <1'^'1 ''1 ''^7,1- Laura 1!.. who was 
born February 3. 1873, and is now Mrs. 
I'rank Brewer: X'ellie (i., \vbo was born 
Februarx' 12. 1879, and is now the wife of 
H. C. Ouisenberrv. one of Eminence town- 
ship"s most progressi\-e farmers; and Es- 
tella. deceased. AFr. Monnett and his fam- 
ilv are members of the Christian church. 



6so 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and lie belongs to the (iraml Army of tho 

Republic and the Ancient Order of United 

Workmen. In his political affiliations he is 

a stanch Republican,, and is a man higlily 

respected and esteemed b\- all who know 

him. 

♦-•-♦ 

J. T. WEBSTER, M. D. 

Dr. J. T. Webster, a popular and suc- 
cessful physician and surgeon of Atlanta, 
is a native of this state, burn in Roscoe, 
in June, 1849, •^'"•1 '^ '^ •''"'i "^ Peter E. and 
Laura (Tower) Webster. The father came 
originally from New Haven, Connecticut, 
and after folhiwing farming fnr some rears 
in Illinois, he remo\cd In Sparta, ^\'iscon- 
sin. where still carries on that nccniiation. 
In his family were eight children. 

Dr. W ebster olitained his primarv edu- 
cation in the ciiuntr\- schnnls near his bo\- 
hood home, but be later attended high 
schi 11 il and business college, graduating 
from both institutions. He began his busi- 
ness career as clerk in a gener.il store, and 
while thus employed commenced the studv 
of medicine. In 1873 he entered the drug 
department of the same store and remained 
there some si.x years, in the meantime con- 
tinuing his medical studies. He was en- 
gaged in the drug business on his i<\\n ac- 
count from 1882 until September, 1887, 
when he entered a medical college at Chi- 
cago, where be was graduate<l in 1889. He 
then located temixn-arily at Darian. \Ms- 
consin, where he spent six months, and in 
the fall of 1890 removed to Lyndon, that 
state, where he engaged in the practice of 
his profession for three years. It was in 
February, 1893, t'''it Dr. ^^'el)ster came to 
Atlanta and has since successfullv engaged 
in practice at this place, being looked upon 



b\- the Community in general as one of the 
leading ])b\sicians of the place. He was 
graduated with honors from the Harvey 
Medical College, and has not only spent 
much time in visiting the \arious hospitals 
of this countrx". but in the spring of 1901 
went to Eur(>pe with the intention of visit- 
ing the hospitals of London, Liverpool, 
Glasgow and Edinliurg, in the interest of 
his ])rofession, spending three months 
;ibr<iad. 

The Doctcjr was united in marriage with 
Miss Martha Stubbs, a daughter of Thomas 
S. Stubbs, who came tci this country from 
England. Tuu cbikh"en were born of this 
union, namely: ]\Iattie E. and Roy H. 
^Irs. Webster holds membership in the 
Alethodist church, while the Doctor is con- 
r.ected with the Baptist church. Socially he 
is a Master Alason, and ixjliticall}- is a 
strong Republican. In March, 1901, be was 
elected mayor of .\tlanta, and is now tilling 
that office in a most capalile and satisfactory 
manner, lie is pcipular both as a physician 
;md citizen, and is held in high regard by 
all with whom he is brought in contact. 



lOHX SAMS. 



John .^ams, one ijf the leading farmers 
and stock-raisers of Mount Pulaski town- 
ship, his home Ijeing on section 21, township 
18, range i, west, was born in the village of 
-Alount Pulaski, December 26, 1859, and is 
a son of Xicholas and Catharine ( Kessell ) 
Sams. He was rpiite small when the fam- 
ily removed to a farm and there he was 
reared to manhood, receiving a fair common 
school education. 

At the age of twent\'-four rears Mr. 
Sams was married in Belmont, Illinois, to 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



651 



Miss Catharine Molidore, wlio ^Yas torn in 
Sangamon county, this state. PoliticaH)- he 
is identified with the Democratic party. He 
has efficiently filled tlie oftice of highway 
commissioner, and while serving in that ca- 
l>acity the first two iron bridges were bmlt 
in his township, while many roads were 
graded and improved, and some new ones 
opened. Religiously Mr. Sams is a mem- 
ber of the Catholic church, having been con- 
firmed at the age of fourteen years at Lin- 
coln, Bishop Spalding officiating. 



JAMES W. HOWSER. 

Prominent among the successful agri- 
culturists of Orvil township is the gentle- 
man whose name introduces this sketch, his 
home being on section 2. He is a native of 
Logan county, l)orn in Eminence township, 
'Slay 16, 1840, and is the only child liorn 
to Solomon and Nancy ( Hawes) Howser, 
though by a former marriage to iSIary Bix- 
ler the father had three children, all now 
deceased. Both parents of our subject were 
natives of Kentucky. As early as 1830 
Solomon Howser came to Illinois and set- 
tled in Logan county, being one of the pio- 
neers of Eminence township. There and 
in Orvil township he followed farming 
throughout the remainder of his life, and his 
death occurred in Eminence township m 
1874. The mother of our subject passed 
away in 1841. 

During his boyhood James W. Howser 
■attended the district schools of this county 
and aided in the work of the farm. \Mien 
the Civil war broke out he enlisted August 
12, 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and 
Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under 
■Captain Beesley and Colonel Latham. His 



regiment was in the rear during the battle 
of Gettysburg, but was in no other import- 
ant engagements, though it always faithful- 
Iv performed any work assigned to it, and 
was never lacking in bravery. The war 
liaving ended, Sh: Howser was at length 
discharged at Pine Blufl:', Arkansas, July 
12, 1865. 

After he returned home he sold his farm 
in Eminence township and removed to his 
present place on section 2, Orvil township. 
where he now has two hundred and forty 
acres of fine farming land under a high state 
of cultivation and well improxed. Here he 
is succes'^fully engaged in general farming, 
and besides this valuable tract he owns 
eightv acres <)f land near :\Iindon, Kearney 
county, Xeljraska. 

:\Ir. Howser married ]\liss Frances Sum- 
mers, who was Ijorn in Ohio, August 28, 
1840, a daughter of Dr. Jefferson and 
Charlotte (Carnahan) Summers. Her fa- 
ther, who was lioth a farmer and a phy- 
sician, removed from Ohio to Tazewell 
countv. Illinois, and later came to Logan 
countv. where lie and his wife both died. 
Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Howser were born 
eleven children, of whom seven are still liv- 
ing, namelv : Louvern, wife of O. A. Lem- 
on, a resident of Utica, Nebraska; Leona, 
deceased; Dora, wife of John Rogers, of 
Tazewell county, Illinois; :\Iary, deceased: 
Luther, traveling salesman, residing in Pe- 
(,ria. Illinois: Aha, wife of T. T. McCor- 
mick, of Lincoln : Fred, who is now living 
in the west; Imegene and Edna, both at 
home: and two who died in infancy. 

Politically :Mr. Howser is identified with 
the Repulilican party, and socially affiliates 
with the Grand Army Post of Lincoln. 
Both he and his wife'are leading and prom- 
inent members of the Bethel Christian 
church of Orvil township, of which he is 



652 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



one of the elders, ami the}- take a very ac- 
tive part in all chnrch work, and are among 
the most highly respected citizens of their 
communit\\ 



JESSE D. SPARKS. 

One of the eminently snccessful and 
Iiighly respected farmer citizens of Logan 
countv. Illinois, wlm nwns a tine farm in 
Oran township, is Jesse D. Sparks, whose 
birth occurred March 7. i(S()4. He is a son 
of James and Martha ( \\'ea\-er ) Sjiarks. 

In 1837 the grandparents of our sub- 
ject, Samuel and AIar\- Sparks, left their 
home in Ohio and located in Logan county. 
Illinois, where the former died at the age 
of sixty-ti\e ^■ears. and the latter at the age 
of eighty \'ears, l)oth uf tlieni Ijeing laid to 
rest in Lucas cemeter\'. The}- had a fam- 
ily of ten children, five of whom still sur- 
vive, as follows: Samuel, who lives in 
Sheridan township; Jesse, who lixes in 
Washington. Illinois: Sarah, who married 
Dr. Fleming. li\es in Oklahoma: Evaline. 
who is the wife of E. Douglas, and li\es in 
Mason county; and Marv. who married ( i. 
Douglas. Tlie mother of our subject was 
born in Xash\ille, Tennessee, in December, 
1S33, and now resides on the old home farm, 
in West Lincoln township. The father of 
our subject, James Sparlcs, came to Logan 
C(_)nnty with his parents, when he was but 
eleven years old. and resided here until his 
death, in February. 1901, at the age of 
seventy-four years and ten months. 

James Sparks was thmugh life a \erv 
acti\e and industrious man, giving his per- 
sonal attention to his farming operations. 
He began life as a farmer and saved his 
earnings. His first ])urchase consisted of 
one hundred and ninetv-two acres of land 



in \\'est Lincoln townsliip and this property 
he placed in a high state of cultivation and 
continued its improvement until his retire- 
ment from acti\e life a fe\y years previous 
to his <leath. Mr. Sparks was a well kncAvn 
and higbh- respected man. Although he 
was not a luember. he was a liberal sup- 
jjorter of the P>aptist church and was a man 
of influence in his communitv. but would 
never accept political office. To him and 
wife were l.iorn six children, two of whom 
died in earl\- childhood, and one beautiful 
daughter, Marw died at the age of eighteen.. 
Those sur\i\ing are; Emma, the wife of" 
A. J. Howard, residing in Broadwell town- 
ship; Jesse, our subject; and George, who 
resides with b.is mother on the home farm, 
which he has never left. He has one son 
and two daughters. .\11 of the children 
were afforded educational advantages in the 
district schools and remained under the 
shelter of the parental roof until they mar- 
ried. 

Jesse Sparks was reared on the fine old 
t.arm in West Lincoln township, and tluring 
the winter months he was a regular attend- 
ant at school, but w itii other farmer bo\s, 
be assisted in the farming t)perations during 
the summers. L'ntil he was twentv-six 
years old he remained with bis father, re- 
lie\-ing the latter of much of the hard labor, 
and becoming a thoroughlv instructed agri- 
culturist. 

Mr. Sparks was married June i, i8i.)0. 
to Miss Sarah C L'eaver, who was born in 
Broadwell township, Xoxember Ji, 1808. 
.She is the daughter of Michael and Sarah 
A. Beax'er. the former of wbon.i was long 
one of the prominent citizens of Broadwell 
township. Conaway Pence, Mrs. Sparks' 
grandfather, was a ])ioneer of Corwin town- 
ship, and for vears was survevor of Logan 
countw ]\Irs. P.ea\er makes her home with 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



655 



her daughter. :\[rs. Sparks, the other mem- 
bers of her family being': Commodore, 
who lives in Xdjraska ; AUce. who is tiie 
wife of J. J. Duff and hves in Oran town- 
ship: Wilson, who lives in Lincoln: and 
Elmer, who resides in Nel)raska. All of 
these were educated in the schools of Lin- 
coln. 

In 1891 Mr. Sparks removed to (/)ran 
township where he rented a farm of two 
hundred and twenty acres, belonging prin- 
cipally to Mr. Beaver, and there he carried 
on general farming for nine years, but in 
the spring of 1900 he removed to his ])resent 
place, it being the old Beaver homestead, 
consisting of two hundred and eighty acres. 
This is one of the most desira])le tracts in 
the township. ^Ir. Sparks also has an in- 
terest in his father"s place, and in addition. 
a farm near Lincoln. He has always taken 
an intelligent interest in his agricultural 
work and thoroughl) understands every 
feature of it. 

Five children have been horn to Mr. and 
Mrs. Sparks, namely: James E, Ruth, 
Commodore X., Jessie K. and an infant 
son. Like his father. :Mr. Sparks has taken 
an interest in ])ublic affairs in his county, 
but has ne\er accepted office. He is known 
as one of the progressive, relialile. public- 
spirited and liberal members of his com- 
munitv. who well represents the best class 
of the citizens of Logan county. 



Xi:WTOX S. DUXX. 

Xewton S. l-)uun. who nwns and operates 
one of the best farms in Sheridan township, 
has been a resilient of Logan county since 
18^7. He was born in Cumberland county. 
Kentucky. July 18. 1837. a son of James 
and Xancy (Jones) Dunn. Ijoth natives of 



that state. Coming to Illinois in 1848 the 
family first located in Sangamon county, 
where the father followed farming until 
1857. when they removed to Logan county, 
settling near Elkhart, where he continued 
to follow that occupation until his death in 
1877. The mother died in 1874. They h.ad 
nine children, of whom four still sur\-u-e. 
namely : Roger, who is now living retired 
in Cornland. this county; Alexander, a mail 
carrier of Piatt county. Illinois: Daniel, an 
engineer of Harrisdale. Illinois: and Xew- 
ton S.. of this .sketch. Some of the children 
died in Kentucky and others in Springfield. 
Illinois, while two sons died in the army 
d:u-ing the Civil war. 

Like the other members of this family, 
Xewton S. Dunn was educated in the com- 
mon schools. Feeling that his countr)- need- 
ed his services during the dark days of the 
Rebellion, he enlisted in .-Vugust, 1862, m 
Compan}- F. Seventy-third Illinois \^)lun- 
teer Infantry, under Colonel Jaques. while 
the company was first commanded by lap- 
tain Montgomery and later by Caiitam Al- 
sap. ^^■itb his regiment, Mr. Dunn partici- 
pated in the battles of Prairieville. Stone 
River. Chickamauga, Missionar\- Ridge, 
Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta .md Xashville. 
but fortunately was never wounded. At the 
close of the war he was honorably dis- 
charged in 1865 at Quincy, Illinois. He 
was at that place when the news came of 
the assassination of President Lincoln. 

On lieing discharged from the service 
^Ir. Dunn returned to Elkhart. Logan coun- 
ty, but he was in ill health for about six 
years. He married Mrs. Matilda Hooker, 
a native of Ohio, and a .laughter of Silas 
Morris, who came to this county at an early 
day and died here. Our sul)ject and his 
wife have two children, twins: (_^llie. now 
the wife of William Baker, a nurseryman 



^54 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of Alenard county, Illinois; and Clarence, 
a A-eterinary surgeon of Oklahoma. 

After his marriage Mr. Dunn remo\'ed 
to Nebraska, but after a short time spent in 
that state, he returned to this county and in 
1873 settled on his present farm on secti(_)n 
7, Sheridan township, where he owns one 
hundred and sixty acres of rich and arable 
land, improved with a good house and sub- 
stantial barn. It is one of the most desira- 
ble places in the locality. 

-As a Republican Mr. Dunn has taken a 
somewhat active part in local politics, and 
efficiently served as deputy sheriff and cjn- 
stajjle ior a short time. Socially he is iden- 
tified with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and is held in the highest regard 
by his fellow-citizens. 



GIDDIXGS H. STROXG. 

Since 1867 this gentleman has been a 

residents of Logan county, Illinois, and is 

now living a retired life in Lincoln. He was 

born in :\Iarlborough, \\'indbam county, 

Verm()nt, :\Iarch 6. 1820, and belongs to an 

old Xew England family of English origin, 

which was founded in this country in the 

■seventeenth century. His parents, David 

■and Abigail fPinney) Strong, were both 

natives of Connecticut, but spent the greater 

part (if their lives as farming people in Ver- 

■mont. where the father died at the age of 

•si.\ty-se\-en years, the mother at the age of 



eighty-six. In their family were ten chil- 
dren, of whom our subject is seventh in 
order of birth and is now the only survivor. 
Mr. Strong was educated in the com- 
mon schools of his native state and there 
grew to manhood upon a farm. On the 
i6th of June, 1847, he was united in mar- 
riage with :\Iiss Sarah A. Thomas, who was 
Iwrn, reared and educated in AMnchester, 
Xew Hampshire. Two children ])Iessed this 
union, both born in the east, namely: Ches- 
tina .\., wife of Will P. Wakeman, of Lin- 
coln. Avhose sketch appears on another page 
of this volume; and George K, who died at 
the age of three years and three months. 

During his early life :\Ir. Strong was 
linncipally engaged in farming, but for 
eight rears was interested in the lumber, 
liamt and oil business. Selling his property 
in the east, he removed from Franklin 
county, :\Iassachusetts, to Logan countv, 
Illinois, in June, 1867, and purchased a 
l)artially improved farm of eighty acres in 
East Lincoln township, where he made his 
home for twenty years. Since 1890 he has 
Ined in Lincoln, where he purchased a lot 
and erected a nice residence. He has laid 
aside all business cares and is spending his 
declining years in ease and quiet. He sold 
the (irst farm which he purchased in East 
Lincoln township, and then bought another 
of <>ne hundred and sixty acres on section 
12, the same township. In ])olitics he is a 
Reiuiblican, and both he and his wife are 
earnest and coiisistent members of the ]\Ieth.- 
odist Episcopal church. 



II 



